Google Duo video chat service comes to web users

Image credit: Google

Google's video chat service, Google Duo, is now available to web users in the US, having been previously restricted to iOS, Android, and Chromebook devices. 

To use Google Duo in your web browser, simply head to duo.google.com – if you already have an account and are signed in, you should see a box containing your contacts. 

New users will need to sign up and verify their mobile number before gaining access to the video chat service. 

Right now, there's no word on when this feature will come to users outside of the US; if you're in the UK for example, heading to the Google Duo website will just take you to a landing page for the mobile app. 

Move aside FaceTime

Having recently started testing a group video calling feature, it looks like Google is upping the competition against the likes of Apple's FaceTime.

However, some users that have tested the group calling feature have been left disappointed by it's limit on group chat members; Google Duo allows up to seven users per chat, which pales in comparison to FaceTime's 32 users per chat.

Still, as the feature is still in its testing phase, it could well change before it rolls out to the public, so we could have huge group chats in Google Duo after all. 

Via CNet

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Olivia Tambini

Olivia was previously TechRadar's Senior Editor - Home Entertainment, covering everything from headphones to TVs. Based in London, she's a popular music graduate who worked in the music industry before finding her calling in journalism. She's previously been interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live on the subject of multi-room audio, chaired panel discussions on diversity in music festival lineups, and her bylines include T3, Stereoboard, What to Watch, Top Ten Reviews, Creative Bloq, and Croco Magazine. Olivia now has a career in PR.