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Skype's Free Group Voice and Video Calling Comes to Web and Outlook.com

Skype's Free Group Voice and Video Calling Comes to Web and Outlook.com

By Manish Singh | Updated: 5 August 2015 18:03 IST

Microsoft is bringing Skype's free group voice and video calling feature to more of its services. The company says that users who are using Skype for Web beta, as well as those using Skype integrated with Outlook.com will now be able to make free voice calls and video calls to their friends and family.

The latest expansion shows Microsoft's attempts to add more advancements to Skype and Outlook. Last year, the company launched Skype for Web but it was only available for select users. In June, it expanded the service to everyone in the US and UK.

Also worth noting is that the Skype group video calling was a paid service until last year. The service works on Windows as well Mac and Xbox One. Microsoft is currently beta testing the Skype for Web version that lets users use the voice and calling service directly from a Web browser. Users can make a voice call to a group of up to 25 people for free. For video calling, the number is limited to 10 people.

Since the service is still in its beta phase, there are several limitations. For instance, you cannot add or remove participants during a call. The group video call also doesn't have a presenter view yet. In addition, you can only have up to three video feeds running at the same time.

To enable the feature, go to web.skype.com or Outlook.com and sign in with your registered account. You should see a +New button. Once you click on it, you will be able to start a new conversation.

The company's decision to make Skype group video and voice calling feature free to users comes as part of its strategic move of switching several of its services to freemium or ad-supported business models. Another such app to have seen such transition is Solitaire, which is an ad-supported app in Windows 10.

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