Team Collaboration Platform HipChat Adds Group Video Calling Feature

Team messaging app HipChat has announced a new group video chat feature for premium users of the platform.

The video conferencing option means HipChat Plus account holders can initiate a virtual meeting with another person and add up to 10 others to the call using an invite URL.

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Users also have the ability to share their screen during a video chat, so that others can live view open documents or browser pages on their desktop.

Mac users need to update their HipChat installations to see the option, which is represented by a camera icon above the member list in every room. Currently the group video chat is only available in the HipChat desktop app, but the company says it will appear on its mobile version soon.

The announcement will be seen by HipChat owner Atlassian as a victory over rival service Slack, which has promised team video calling as part of its development timeline but has yet to deliver the feature.

HipChat Plus costs $2 a month per user, but the Mac app is a free download, while the iPhone and iPad version of HipChat can be downloaded for free from the App Store.

Tag: HipChat

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