Google Duo is a slightly popular video calling application for smartphones developed by Google. It was initially released in 2016 and replaced hangouts.
Hangouts were also popular but lacked video calling and conferencing functions because it only supports instant messaging and audio calling.
However, google duo provides a simpler way to make video calls from android, iOS, or desktop browsers. If you haven’t used google duo yet, this article will educate you on how to use google duo for your purpose. So,
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Let’s start,
Before starting, if you are looking for an application that provides enhanced video calling features, then google duo is exactly what you are looking for.
It supports 720p HD video and is optimized for low-bandwidth mobile networks through WebRTC. Users can make group video calls with up to 32 friends and can invite anyone through the link.
To add more fun to family video calling, it has a distinguished mode called family mode. Family mode allows doodles, fun masks, and effects. Besides, there are lots of interesting things on google duo.
To see and use them, you have to first download the application to your device.
Download Google duo
As previously said, google duo is available on both smartphones and desktops, you can download and start to use it with any of the devices.
If you are an android user, you can get it installed by default. If you don’t have it, then go to google play store and download the app.
On the other hand, if you are iOS user, you can easily find google duo in the App Store.
Besides, you can use google duo from the desktop browser also. Open the desktop browser and search for google duo. The rest is as simple as ABC.
Verify your phone number
After downloading the google duo, the next thing you can do is verify your phone number. Google duo works with the user’s phone number and Gmail account.
If you use phone number, then you can direct video calls through duo to all of your phone contacts who also have google duo installed on their device.
If you use Google account to sign in to google duo, people with your Google Account info, like your Gmail address, can see that you use Duo and call you using the app.
Google duo video calls on smartphone
As a video calling application, google duo provides flexibility to users so they can make video calls anytime. Making video calls with google duo is simple.
If you are using a mobile phone, just open the google duo application, click on ‘New call’ and you can see your contact list.
On your contact list, there will be visible which of your contacts you can call. If the contact doesn’t have google duo installed, you can’t make a video call with them. However, you can invite them to use google duo via Facebook, Instagram, Gmail, WhatsApp, and direct messages.
The video calling interface is also awesome for google duo. When you choose any contact from your list to video call with google duo, you will be presented with three options voice call, video call, and message.
You can also see a group of emojis to send as individual messages before making a call. When you make a video call, your front camera is open and can see your face on the screen. You can see a text on the screen warning that you are visible on the receiver’s screen.
So, they can see what your camera is capturing while the call is ringing. It is known as google duo ‘knock knock’ feature. This feature lets users see live preview of the caller before accepting the video call.
Similarly, when anyone calls you on google duo, you also can see a preview of what their camera sees. You can turn off the knock-knock feature if you want though.
Google duo video call in browser
If you have a microphone set up on your desktop, you can make video calls with google duo from the desktop browser. Google duo is available on Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Safari.
Select any of these browsers and go to duo.google.com. you have to verify your phone number or google account before starting. After that, you can see your phone contact and can call any of them.
However, on desktop, you won’t get the same preferences as its smartphone. Whenever anyone calls you on google duo, you will receive a notification on your desktop.
Google duo group call
Google dup allows group video calls with up to 32 people at once. Though this is a little amount when another video calling application allows minimum of 100 participants in group video calling.
However, it is still best and makes a huge sense for family and friends group video calling requirements. You can create Google Duo group and add the desired person from your contacts.
Open google duo on your device > New call > Create group. Then you will allow select specific contacts for group video calls. You can give a name to your group and then it will save on your google duo contact.
Read more: How to screen share on google duo?
Frequently Ask Questions (FAQs)
Here are some frequently asked questions about google duo. Find the answers you need about google duo from here.
Google duo is a video and audio calling application that offers seamless high-quality video calling features across any device.
yes, you can install google duo from the app store and use it on iOS.
Google duo doesn’t have standalone app for desktop, so you can’t install it on your computer. But you can use it on your browser.
To use google duo on your desktop, open your browser at first and search for google duo.
Yes, google duo is available for both video and audio calls. So, you can make voice calls with it like video calls. When you decide to make a call and click on ‘New call’, you can choose whether you want to make a video or audio call.
If you don’t like knock knock, you can disable it from the settings option. Click on the three dot icon on the upper left corner, click settings > select call settings > Knock knock for this device > toggle the button to turn off knock knock for your device.
Yes, you can use google duo without a phone number. In such a case, you need a google account to sign in and start using google duo.
So, using google duo is simple and fun. You can make one-to-one or group video calls with this excellent application and integrate with family and friends.