How to use HouseParty: complete guide

Although HouseParty appeared on the market in 2016 developed by Life on air, his real explosion of popularity did not come until the pandemic, with its lockdowns, quarantines and movement restrictions. It was then that the use of video calls became widespread to maintain contact with family and friends. We all learned then how to use HouseParty and get a lot of benefits from this app.

First of all, it should be noted that there are some aspects that have made Houseparty stand out from other communication tools such as WhatsApp or Telegram in these troubled times. First of all, it is a multiplatform app (it works for PC, Android and iOS devices) that, among other things, allows you to perform group video calls up to eight people.

A good example of the success of HouseParty is that, between the months of March and April 2020 alone, it registered more than 67 million downloads. The application remained in the first place of the ranking of social networks in the App Store.

HouseParty: first steps

Joining the great HouseParty family is very simple. To begin with, it must be said that no need to register a phone number to use this app. A username is enough. Let's see what the first steps are to use this tool:

Download

Naturally, first of all, Download the app on our device (or use a web browser like Chrome). For its installation on our phone or tablet, we will use the following links:

• HouseParty for Android.
• House Party for iOS.

Account registration

After installing the application, it is necessary to register our account. These are the steps to follow:

1. To start, click on the option Sign up. There we enter a valid email address and username*. Ideally, it should be a more or less recognizable nickname for our contacts, since the objective is to communicate with them.
2. The next step is to establish contact with our friends and acquaintances. Houseparty will ask us to access our contact list. It is not a necessary step, although it is recommended. A good idea to make this process easier can be connect houseparty with facebook.
3. The last step will be to allow HouseParty to have access to the camera, the microphone and possibly also the location of our device. These permissions vary depending on the preferences of each user.

(*) Optionally, in this step we can also enter our phone number. If we do not want, we will simply click on the option "skip".

How to make video calls with HouseParty

Video calls made through HouseParty offer certain peculiarities that differentiate them from normal video calls. For example, while we are connected we can also send text messages in the style of WhatsApp or Telegram.

One thing to keep in mind when using HouseParty is that all options are in english, because there is not yet a version in Spanish. In any case, this should not be too important a setback.

Now let's see how to use HouseParty to make a video call:

1. Once logged in, we choose one of the contacts from our list. To establish the video call you have to swipe the screen from bottom to top (swipe-up), so the list of contacts will appear on the screen with an indicator next to each one of them that allows us to know if they are online or not.
2. We select the contact by clicking on the button Join (join). There we have two options:
   • Greet (the waving hand icon, as shown in the image), to start a chat.
   • Call (the red button). If the person accepts the call we will immediately hear his voice and see his image on the screen.
3. During the call you can stop both image and audio. For the first thing you have to go to the camera icon (the one with the three points); for the latter, just click on the microphone icon.
4. Finally, for end the call all you have to do is press the “X”.

This is the "normal" way to make video calls with this application. However, we have already said that with HouseParty you can also make multiple video calls, so within the conventional video call there is the possibility of third parties joining. If we want to avoid it and continue having a private conversation, we will have to click on the padlock icon thus ensuring that we are within a lock room (closed room).

How to make group video calls on HouseParty

This is the star function of HouseParty. The application allows us to video calls of up to eight people, that is, ourselves and seven other contacts. And all with a good quality standard. These group video calls may well be organized for work or professional purposes, but in practice they almost always end up becoming a party between friends. A house party or house party.

To establish a group video call with HouseParty, you have to start a normal video call with any of the contacts that are going to participate. The contacts who want to join just have to press the button Join. Any of our contacts (whom we will have previously notified) can join until the list of eight is complete.

If the group video call is intended, for example, for five people, after they have joined we can block access to other contacts clicking on the padlock.

Moreover, it is also possible add contacts to group video call manually. For that you have to click on the “+” icon that we will find in the upper right part of the screen and select the desired contact. If it is not yet in the list, it can be added using the option "Add new friends".

Other HouseParty Features

In addition to video calls, simple or group, HouseParty offers some other interesting features:

• Text messages through the airplane icon and the option "Pass a Note".
• Video messages from each of the contacts, using the button "Send FaceMail".
• Minigames: Nothing better to combat boredom than playing with friends online. The dice icon, located in the upper right corner of the screen, allows us to access fun games to share: Trivia, Quick Draw, Heads Up o Chips and guac.

Finally, it should be noted that HouseParty is a free application, although it offers us the possibility of making donations or making optional purchases.