VIDEOCHATAPPS
ISSUE392|COMPUTER SHOPPER|OCTOBER 2020 81
MESSENGER
ROOMS
MEET
MICROSOFT
TEAMS
SKYPE WHATSAPP ZOOM
FEATURES
Maximumcall
participants
50 100 250 50 8100
Textchat No YesYes YesYes Yes
File sharing No YesYes YesYes Yes
Screen sharing YesYes YesYes No Yes
Background
replacement
YesYes Blurring onlyYes No Yes
Maximum call
duration
Unlimited24hours(one
hour forfree
users after 30th
September)
Eight hours Four hours
(video only)
Unlimited 40 minutes (free),
24 hours (paid)
End-to-end
encryption
No No (transport
encryptionused
instead)
YesYes YesYes
Maximum
onscreenvideos
16 16 49 9849
Maximum video
resolution
720p 720p 1080p 1080p 720p 720p
Calendar invites No YesYes YesNoYes
Call recording No Yes(until 30th
September)
Paid versiononly YesNoPaidversiononly
SOFTWARE
OS support Windows,
macOS, iPadOS,
Android, iOS
Windows,
macOS, iPadOS,
Android, iOS,
Linux
Windows,
macOS,iPadOS,
Android, iOS,
Linux
Windows,
macOS, iPadOS,
Android, iOS,
Linux
Android, iOS,
iPadOS (desktop
apps don’t
supportvideo
calls)
Windows, macOS
System
requirements
Not stated 2.2GHz dual-core
CPU
1.6GHzCPU,
2GB RAM
1GHz CPU,
512MB RAM
Not stated 2.5GHz dual-core
CPU
App download
needed
YesHost only Hostonly Host only YesHost only
Account needed YesYes Host only Host only YesHost only
Webclient
available
YesYes YesYes Yes, but doesn’t
supportvideo
calls
Yes
BUYING INFORMATION
Free version YesYes YesYes YesYes
Paid version
price
N/A £8 per month (all
features free until
30th September)
£5 per month N/A N/A £12 per month
In-app purchases No No No No No No
Details http://www.messenger.
com
meet.google.com http://www.microsoft.
com
http://www.skype.com http://www.whatsapp.
com
http://www.zoom.us
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