Video Call

Review by eFreeware

If you mostly want to see the faces of the people you talk to and you would rather not burn through a data allowance doing it, Video Call is built with you in mind. FORBIS s.r.o. describes it as a free, straightforward calling app for Android phones and tablets, and it has been on Google Play since August 2016. The install count sits above 10 million, which suggests a lot of people have given it a try over the years.

What it promises is not complicated. You open it, you call someone, and the video travels between your devices rather than through a central server, which the developer presents as the basis for its privacy approach. For anyone who just wants a calling tool that does not demand much of their phone or their connection, that pitch is easy to understand.

What a call actually involves

The core of the app is a video call between two people. According to the developer, the video data moves directly between the devices involved through peer-to-peer networking, which is the mechanism behind the privacy angle. That is a meaningful design choice for anyone who thinks about where their conversations travel, and it is stated as a feature rather than an add-on.

The app is also built to keep data use low while still delivering what the developer calls high video quality. Those two goals pull against each other in any calling app, and how well the balance holds will depend on your connection at the time. It is a reasonable thing to want from a free tool, but it is also the sort of claim that only shows itself in practice.

Calls work over whatever connection type your device has available, so you are not tied to one method of getting online. The app is meant for keeping in touch with friends and family in different parts of the world, which is the ordinary use case here.

Bringing more people into the conversation

One-to-one calling is only part of it. During a call you can invite other people in to turn it into a group conversation. That is handy for the situations where a quick two-person chat turns into something bigger, like a family catching up across several households or a small group of friends deciding where to meet.

The invite-during-a-call approach means you do not have to set anything up in advance. You start talking, and if someone else needs to join, you add them. For informal gatherings that is often exactly the right shape, and it avoids the setup ritual that some group calling tools require.

Group calling does put more demand on the connection, since more streams are moving at once. The app's low-data design is meant to help here, though a group call will always ask more of a network than a two-person one.

Sharing files, photos and video messages

Beyond live calls, the app handles sharing. You can send files, videos and photos to the people you are talking to, which makes it useful for the small exchanges that usually happen around a call anyway, like a photo of something you were just describing or a document someone needs.

There is also a video message option for the times when the person you wanted does not pick up. Instead of leaving a missed call and hoping they ring back, you can record something and send it. It is a way to catch a moment and pass it on, and it fits naturally alongside the calling features.

Recent updates have added face filters and masks, which pushes the app a little further toward the playful end of the spectrum. Whether that matters to you depends on how you use video chat, but it is there for people who like it.

What it asks of you and your device

The app is free to download and works on Android smartphones and tablets. It does show ads, and there are in-app purchases available, so the free experience is not entirely without commercial elements. Recent work removed several ads for a better flow, which suggests the ad load has been a point of attention.

For a household or a friend group willing to standardize on one app, that is not a problem.

Recent updates also added a way to report a user and to give feedback on call quality after a call. This feedback feeds into improving security and stability. Other recent changes include a faster launch and onboarding adjustments, alongside interface fixes for Android 14 and above.

The kind of caller this fits

I would expect this app to suit people who make video calls regularly but do not want a heavy app or a big data bill. If your calls are mostly with family in another city or friends you see in person often, the combination of direct device-to-device video and modest data use lines up well with that pattern.

It also seems suited to people who value the privacy framing. The developer makes peer-to-peer transmission central to the pitch, and for anyone who has thought about how much of their video traffic passes through third-party servers, that will be the most interesting part of the app.

The 4.0 average from more than 33,000 ratings suggests a broadly positive reception without being universally loved. That is a normal profile for a free communication app, and it is the kind of signal I would weigh alongside what the app actually does rather than on its own.

A free calling app worth trying if the fit is right

Video Call is a free, focused Android app for video conversations, group calls, file sharing and video messages, with peer-to-peer transmission at the center of how it describes itself. It has been around long enough to have a substantial user base, and the recent updates show the developer is still working on it.

The trade-offs are the ones that come with the territory. If you already have a group of friends or family willing to use one app together, those points matter less.

I would suggest it to people who want a free video calling tool on Android phones or tablets, especially if low data use and direct device-to-device video are the things they care about.

What's new in version 1.5.6

You can now report a user or send feedback about call quality after a video call. Your feedback helps us improve the security and stability of video calls. - added funny face filters and masks - improved user experience, app stability and performance - faster launching app - several ad removed for better user flow - onboarding process optimisation - UI/UX fixes for Android 14+