Now that everyone is restricted indoors for the foreseeable future, video conferencing services have seen a meteoric rise in demand. Popular solutions such as Skype have fallen out of popularity instead of entrants such as Zoom. Not only are they quite feature-rich, but also allow users to hop into meetings without going through the hassle of signing up for an account. Despite its widespread popularity, a lot of companies have advised their employees not to use Zoom citing security risks. Here we’ll take a look at some Zoom alternatives that offer similar features.
JumpChat
Much like Zoom, JumpChat requires minimal setup time. All you need to do is head over to the website, start a chat, and you’re set. You can then share the link with up to eight people simultaneously. Furthermore, it lets you host meetings for as long as you want, making it excellent for binge-watching movies with your buddies.
JumpChat also lets you share your screen with others, has an essential group chat functionality, and even enables you to transfer files via a peer-to-peer connection. The service is available for free and can be used on desktop and mobile browsers. There is an Android and iOS app too.
Webroom
Webroom, unlike other apps in the list, needs some form identification. All it requires is your email address, but that’s it. There’s no need to sign up for an account unless you’re looking to upgrade to a paid tier of the service that offers more features. The free version is relatively well-endowed, so there is little reason to upgrade unless you’re looking to get some serious work done.
Websroom bumps up the number of allowed users to fifteen, has a group chat and file-sharing function. It also has Google Docs, Sheets, and Presentations integration. Lastly, it lets you create a shared whiteboard allowing you to share ideas in real-time. Its screen sharing function enables you to share audio and video content with other participants. Although Webroom doesn’t have a dedicated Android and iOS app, it should work fine on most mobile browsers.
Jitsi Meet
Jitsi Meet is also a no-sign up app that lets you instantly create rooms and share the URL with your friends, who can then join. There is even an option to password protect meetings. Jitsi Meet also lets you save meeting recordings directly into Dropbox.
Ther is even YouTube integration that lets you watch videos with others. Like Zoom Jitsi Meet has a “raise hand” feature that enables you to draw attention towards yourself. The moderator can then let you speak or silence you. Lastly, you can integrate your Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook Calendar to schedule Jitsi Meet calls on it. The best part is, you can even start the call from within the calendar app.
Jitsi Meet works on all web browsers and has an Android and iOS app. Furthermore, you can also add it to Slack if you happen to have an existing Slack account.
ItsHello
ItsHello is the quickest way to get a group video call up and running. All you need to do is to head over to the website, and it’ll automatically create a room for you along with a shareable URL. It lacks a lot of the features listed above and is ideal for when you want to set up a meeting quickly. ItsHello is limited to web browsers only but works fine on both mobile and desktop.
Messenger Rooms
Facebook made a surprise announcement a few days telling us about Messenger Rooms. Only one member needs to have a Facebook account to create a room. Once created, the room can host up to 50 people, even those without a Facebook account. And, there’s no time limit on meetings either. Messenger Rooms isn’t live yet, but Facebook says that the service will be available worldwide in the coming weeks.
If the above apps seem sketchy to you, there are always more ‘trusted’ options such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Cisco WebX, and more that you can fall back on. If you think that relying on multiple apps is a waste of time and want to stick to Zoom, here is our post detailing how to use Zoom and its many features.
