The unstoppable rise of video calling apps in COVID-19 lockdown

Zoom is becoming wildly popular in this period for business settings. Even Boris Johnson is on-board the hype train. Allowing up to 100 people in a chatroom at once (or 500 with the paid service), Zoom is renowned for maintaining a steady connection, and offers seamless compatibility with instant messaging/ management platforms like Slack. Its ability to screen-share also lends perfectly to digital start-up meetings and big business conferences alike. 

When it comes to killing some time and shooting the breeze with friends, apps like Brunch and Houseparty are becoming the quintessential platforms. Hosting up to eight people each, both are unequivocally geared towards Gen Z. I can’t imagine my parent’s knowing much trivia about Lil Uzi Vert, or using the word ‘dank’ for that matter. Mini-game features like Quick Draw (basically Pictionary), and Chips and Guac (Cards Against Humanity) make the experience of holding your phone at arm’s length about as fun as it can be. My girlfriend’s incessant laughing would certainly suggest so.

It won’t come as a surprise that the popularity of video calling apps is stirring concerns about privacy. It’s just part and parcel of success in tech. As the reward grows, so does the risk.

While it’s true that most people’s chats won’t be interrupted, there are concerns over increasing cases of hacking and calls being invaded. ‘Zoombombers‘ (trolls on Zoom) are broadcasting derogatory and offensive content on public chats through the previously mentioned screen-share feature. And people are boldly suggesting Houseparty has been compromised to the extent that it’s providing hackers a gateway into other private platforms such as PayPal, Netflix, and Spotify.

We are investigating indications that the recent hacking rumors were spread by a paid commercial smear campaign to harm Houseparty. We are offering a $1,000,000 bounty for the first individual to provide proof of such a campaign to [email protected].

— Houseparty (@houseparty) March 31, 2020

As consumers we have to recognise that, as the news is telling us every 10 seconds, this pandemic is ‘unprecedented’. And we should cut these companies some slack. These video calling apps weren’t designed for the myriad of ways consumers are using them, and they certainly weren’t prepared for this influx of new users. However, they’ve found themselves in this position and will have to adapt quickly if they want to retain their lofty audiences once we regain some normality. 

Never in a million years will you catch them admitting it, but truthfully this global lockdown has been something of a blessing in disguise for these video communication companies.

What’s your go-to service in lockdown?