Apple's FaceTime video calling is incredibly popular, and it now works on Windows (partially). FaceTime lets people with iPhones, iPads, and Macs make easy video calls to one another. You can't make Facetime calls from Windows, but you can join them.
A person using an iPhone, iPad, or Mac can now start a FaceTime call and generate a web link. That person can send you this link, and you can join the FaceTime call in your browser, even if you're using Windows. This feature was added in iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS 12 Monterey, which were released in 2021.
There is no FaceTime app for Windows, however. You also can't start a FaceTime call on the web. Apple users can start FaceTime calls and invite Windows users to join in a browser, but that's it. Facetime is a proprietary standard, and it just isn't available outside the Apple ecosystem.
If you're looking to start FaceTime calls from Windows, you'll have to use an alternative video-calling solution instead.
Here are several FaceTime alternatives that are available on Windows, macOS, Android, iPhone, and iPad, so you can get some face time with almost anyone. A couple are even available for Linux.
- Zoom: In 2021, Zoom is incredibly popular and it needs no introduction. It works on Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone, iPad, Chromebook, and more.
- Skype: Owned by Microsoft, Skype was one of the first video call apps to become mainstream. Since then, it's only gotten better. Skype is available for Windows, macOS, iPhone, iPad, Linux, and Android.
- Google Duo: Google Duo lets you make video calls from the web or Android.
- Facebook Messenger: Did you know that you can make video calls using Facebook Messenger? You can, and you can use the feature on pretty much any operating system. There are dedicated Messenger apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android, but you can also use Messenger right in your desktop web browser to make video calls from Windows, macOS, or Linux.
- Viber: Viber is a feature-rich app that you can use for video calls and a variety of other purposes. It has millions of users worldwide and is available for a variety of platforms like iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux.
You'll need to take the extra step of making sure that the people you want to call have the right app installed. But once that's done, you'll be able to place video calls to just about anybody, whether they use an Apple device or not.
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