Note (September 2026): Two apps on this list have changed since publication: vTime XR was taken offline in October 2025, and Google Duo is now Google Meet. Meta also withdrew Messenger Rooms in late 2023; the sections below are updated.
The best Android apps to stay connected with friends are WhatsApp, Zoom Workplace, Google Meet (which replaced Google Duo) and Messenger. As of September 2026, WhatsApp video calls hold up to 32 people with end-to-end encryption, while Zoom and Google Meet host up to 100 participants free but cap free group calls at 40 and 60 minutes respectively.
Key Takeaways
- Still available: Zoom (now listed on Google Play as Zoom Workplace), WhatsApp Messenger and Messenger.
- Renamed: Google Duo became Google Meet; the Duo mobile app was renamed Meet from August 2022.
- Shut down: vTime XR went offline on October 10, 2025, and Meta says Messenger Rooms has been unavailable since late 2023.
- Free limits (as of September 2026): Zoom Basic allows 100 participants and 40 minutes per meeting; Google Meet on a personal account allows 100 participants and 60 minutes for group calls.
- Most private: WhatsApp has encrypted all communications end to end with the Signal Protocol since April 5, 2016.
The COVID-19 pandemic made many people realize the importance of staying in touch with each other, whether for work-from-home teams or for families staying in contact when gathering was not permitted.
In fact, during the pandemic my own family held a Zoom meeting for our mother’s birthday, as she lives in Los Angeles and the rest of us are spread out around the world. We had family members connecting from New York all the way down to Puerto Rico.
Best Apps to Stay Connected With Friends
While Zoom exploded into the most popular video conference app in 2020, numerous other companies rolled out upgrades and features to their own video apps to stay in competition.
This article looks at five Android video calling apps that became popular for staying connected with friends and family, with the status of each as of September 2026: Zoom, WhatsApp and Messenger are still available, Google Duo now lives on as Google Meet, and vTime XR has shut down.
1] Zoom
Zoom has been around since 2011, but with so many video chat alternatives available, most people hadn’t heard of Zoom until early 2020.
During COVID-19 pandemic quarantines and work-from-home situations, Zoom suddenly experienced massive growth over its competitors. According to an April 1, 2020 message from Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, the maximum number of daily meeting participants rose from about 10 million in December 2019 to more than 200 million in March 2020. Those figures count meeting participants, free and paid, not unique users.
You might ask what caused such a huge boom for Zoom over other teleconference apps of the time, such as Skype or Google Hangouts, but the answer is pretty simple. (Both of those services have since closed: Google shut down Hangouts on November 1, 2022, and Microsoft retired Skype on May 5, 2025, pointing users to Microsoft Teams.)
Zoom is intuitive to use, with an easy interface, supports third-party filters for enhancing your appearance, and you can even set custom backgrounds, which led to tons of Zoom-related memes spreading across the internet.
ZOOM Cloud Meetings for Android
2] vTime XR
vTime XR was once one of the best-known options for a VR/AR chat experience, but vTime took the service offline on October 10, 2025, saying a vulnerability in Unity could not be patched. Before the shutdown, vTime XR was available for Android, iOS, and desktop computers, and users could even join a room in a 2D window without a VR headset.
vTime XR had a number of features such as avatar customization, image sharing, and uploading your own 360-degree photos to be used as meeting backgrounds, as well as travel to built-in virtual locations with friends. vTime advised users to delete the app because it no longer functions, and the vTime XR listing was no longer available on Google Play as of September 2026.
There’s a lot of applications for VR in regards to staying in touch with friends, and you could even consider playing games like Idle Breakout or Google Feud on CrazyGames in a VR browser.
vTime XR for Android3] WhatsApp
For privacy-minded individuals, WhatsApp gained a reputation as being one of the most secure messaging apps, due to its end-to-end encryption, which the company claims doesn’t allow even the company to access your conversation history.
This has led to debates between WhatsApp and various governments who have requested several times that WhatsApp make concessions regarding their end-to-end encryption, which WhatsApp has always steadfastly denied.
Aside from the privacy and security benefits, WhatsApp is a fairly simple messaging service to use, and call quality depends largely on your internet connection. WhatsApp completed end-to-end encryption across all communications on April 5, 2016, using the Signal Protocol, and it has supported up to 32 participants in video calls since June 2024.
WhatsApp Messenger for Android4] Google Duo
After Zoom’s popularity skyrocketed, Google aggressively updated the Google Duo app with new features. Google then merged Duo into Google Meet: the Duo mobile app was renamed Meet starting in August 2022, and the same Google Play listing appears as Google Meet as of September 2026.
In 2020, Google improved Duo’s audio and video call quality, added AR (augmented reality) camera filters, and deepened integration with Google Home compatible devices, which meant users could send voice messages or receive calls through Google Home speakers, for example.
In spring 2020, Google Duo supported up to 12 video participants compared to Zoom’s 100, and Duo was intended more for personal chats than work conferences. Google raised Duo’s group limit to 32 participants by May 2022. Google Meet, which replaced Duo, allows up to 100 participants in a meeting on a personal Google account, according to Google Meet Help.
As of September 2026, Zoom’s free Workplace Basic plan lists a 40-minute maximum per meeting. Google Meet on a free personal account allows one-on-one calls of up to 24 hours on a computer but limits meetings of three or more participants to 60 minutes, according to Google Meet Help.
Google Duo for Android5] Facebook Messenger
In April 2020, Facebook released a new Zoom-rival feature called Messenger Rooms, an entirely free new feature of Facebook Messenger that is already integrated into the Messenger app. Rooms had a participant limit of 50 people and no time limit on call duration. Meta has since withdrawn the feature: an update added on September 16, 2024 to Meta’s original announcement says Messenger Rooms has been unavailable since late 2023, and that group calls can still be started from Messenger, WhatsApp groups and Instagram DMs.
Facebook also integrated Rooms into the main Facebook app, letting users create and share rooms through News Feed, Groups, and Events pages until the feature was withdrawn.
Messenger for AndroidWhile it ran, Messenger Rooms was not limited to people with Facebook accounts: anyone with the room’s URL link could join, and invitations could be sent by text, email, and WhatsApp.
Which Apps to Stay Connected With Friends Still Work?
Three of the five apps in this list still work under the same name, one was renamed, and one has closed. The table below shows each app’s status and free group-call limits as of September 2026, based on the makers’ own pages and Google Play listings.
| App (Google Play name) | Status | Free group-call limits | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoom Workplace | Available; Zoom Video Communications renamed itself Zoom Communications in November 2024 | Workplace Basic: up to 100 participants, 40 minutes max per meeting | Large scheduled calls, work and study |
| WhatsApp Messenger | Available; owned by Meta since 2014 | Up to 32 participants in video calls | Private calls with contacts already in your phone |
| Google Meet (formerly Google Duo) | Duo mobile app renamed Meet from August 2022 | Personal account: up to 100 participants; one-on-one up to 24 hours, 3+ people up to 60 minutes (on a computer) | Android users with a Google account |
| Messenger | App available; Messenger Rooms withdrawn in late 2023 | Group calls still available; Meta does not state a limit on the pages checked | Friends and family already on Facebook |
| vTime XR | Taken offline October 10, 2025; no longer listed on Google Play | Not available | No longer an option |
How to Choose an App to Stay Connected With Friends
The right app depends on group size, call length and who you are calling. Use these checks before you send an invite:
- For privacy: WhatsApp encrypts messages and calls end to end with the Signal Protocol, a protection it completed on April 5, 2016.
- For large groups: Zoom Workplace Basic and Google Meet both allow up to 100 participants on free accounts, compared with up to 32 on a WhatsApp video call.
- For long calls without paying: Google Meet allows one-on-one calls of up to 24 hours on a free personal account, while Zoom’s free plan lists a 40-minute maximum per meeting.
- For reach: WhatsApp reported 3 billion monthly active users as of May 2025, so most friends abroad can be reached without installing anything new.
- For friends on Facebook: Messenger still supports group calls, even though Rooms links are gone. Meta shut down the Messenger desktop app on December 15, 2025, so calls now run through the mobile app or the Facebook website.
Limits and plan names change often, so check the app’s own help page before planning a long group call. If you use WhatsApp on a laptop, the WhatsApp Web login guide explains how to link your phone, and this roundup of WhatsApp alternatives covers other messaging apps.
What Happened to Skype, Google Hangouts and Google Duo?
Several apps people once used to stay connected with friends have closed or merged since 2020:
- Google Hangouts: Google announced on June 27, 2022 that Hangouts would shut down, and it closed on November 1, 2022, with users moved to Google Chat.
- Google Duo: Google merged Duo into Google Meet; the Duo mobile app was renamed Meet in August 2022, and the Duo and Meet web apps finished merging in 2024.
- Skype: Microsoft retired Skype on May 5, 2025 and replaced it with Microsoft Teams (free).
- Messenger Rooms: Meta says Rooms has been unavailable since late 2023.
- vTime XR: vTime took the app offline on October 10, 2025 and kept accounts reachable in a browser until April 10, 2026 so users could download their data.
Ways to Make Video Calls With Friends More Fun
A video call works better with something to do together. Game nights are one popular option, and this list of board games for video calls suggests titles that work over a webcam. For a look at how video chat apps like Zoom are built, see the features and cost of creating a video chat app like Zoom, and for the bigger picture on remote work since the pandemic, read whether we will work from home more after COVID-19.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free app to stay connected with friends on Android?
WhatsApp is the most widely used free option, with 3 billion monthly active users as of May 2025, end-to-end encryption and video calls of up to 32 people. For groups larger than 32, Zoom Workplace Basic and Google Meet allow up to 100 participants on free accounts, with time limits on group calls.
Is Google Duo still available?
Google Duo is no longer available under that name. Google merged Duo into Google Meet, and the Duo mobile app was renamed Meet starting in August 2022. The same Google Play listing now installs Google Meet.
Does Zoom still have a 40-minute limit?
Yes. As of September 2026, Zoom’s free Workplace Basic plan lists a maximum of 40 minutes per meeting and up to 100 participants. Paid Zoom plans remove that limit; plan prices vary by region and billing period.
Can you still use Messenger Rooms?
No. Meta says Messenger Rooms has been unavailable since late 2023. Group calls can still be started from Messenger, WhatsApp groups and Instagram direct messages.
What happened to vTime XR?
vTime XR was taken offline on October 10, 2025. vTime said a vulnerability in Unity could not be patched, advised users to delete the app, and kept accounts accessible in a browser until April 10, 2026 for data downloads.
How many people can join a WhatsApp video call?
WhatsApp supports up to 32 participants in video calls, a limit in place since June 2024. Group voice and video calling first arrived on WhatsApp in September 2018.
1 Comment
I’ve been relying on Zoom and WhatsApp heavily, but I stumbled on something else that’s worth a look for laid-back virtual hangouts with friends. It’s a refreshing change from the usual call formats.