…for video calls?
I only signed up to FB because my ex-wife said it was the only way to stay in contact
with our son.
Since then we have had video calls from time to time but today was the first for a few months because he was in Europe, including here.
But it didn’t work. When he called me there was no red or green button to refuse or accept the call. And when I tried to call him the icon was greyed out and when I hovvered the message said ‘no video calls with this browser.’
I googled and was taken straight to a Mozilla (Firefox) help forum where there were dozens of people like me similarly blocked out. The general view is that Meta is at war with Mozilla and is blocking Firefox from Facebook.
I refuse to be bullied especially as I know that FB has been badgering me for months to sign up to encryption and, although nothing was said, has been deleting some of my historic messages, but only with 1 or 2 people.
So, is there any other way to make video calls while maintaining my use of Mozilla/Firefox?
We used Skype for video calls for a while but then OH stopped travelling. Skype was bought by Microsoft and shut down this month or last month. They’re encouraging me to use Microsoft Teams. Oh uses it for work and it’s fine.
I haven’t used Skype for years, and never for videos, but I fell out with them when they falsely said I had no credit left so I bought another 10 quids worth. Only to discover later that I had £15 in the kitty. A stupid and unnecessary trick for a regular user.
Not heard of MS Team before, can it be used with Firefox? I am reluctant to change from something I know, a big leap for a non-techie like me.
Whatsapp is for smartphones, not for computers. Can you use Signal from a computer and if so, any browser?
I’m not a smartphone expert, but I think you can use either on a PC if signed-up to begin with with a smartphone … which sounds bizarre. Probably because smartphones are a little awkward to manipulate in comparison (?).
Yes that’s what happened to me when I tried, at the last gasp it wanted me to connect to a smartphone, but that would have meant that whoever’s it was became the go to pester for the owner, and I wouldn’t wish unwanted spam on anybody, there’s enough of it about already.
That rules all those out then anyway.
I tried Instagram when a regular contact, my late wife’s daughter in law had something of a brainstorm and migrated to Instagram thinking she was still on Facebook. So I signed up for it (the only contact for Fran’s kids) but couldn’t find her there anyway. But all the videos seemed to be public, not really what I am looking for.
Whatsapp. Free calls with video if you are both on wifi. It’s how I’ve stayed in touch, for free over the years.
Similar to Facebook, but more ethical is Bluesky.
Since the demise of Skype, we use Zoom (on PC not smartphone). Only problem is that calls are limited to 45 minutes then you have to make another one. I don’t find teh interface very intuitive though - not at all easy to use…
At least it doesn’t require a smartphone to start with! I have wrestled with MS Teams as well. Neither is exactly intuitive but they are very different so you might get on better with that one perhaps.
There is Zoom, Google meet, Cisco WebEx. I’ve used all 3 separately for work calls in addition to Microsoft Teams. They’re all OK, but Zoom is the one we use most commonly for social interaction.
I use Zoom for all my video calls. It is possible to continue for more than 45 minutes. Just hang up and come in on the same link and password again. Easy. I have a friend in the UK and we always talk for at least 90 minutes on the same link.
