# Video chat app for within home network? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 20, 2022, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125 "2022-01-20T19:30:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/1 "2022-01-20T19:30:10Z")
My husband and I are both retired and are each often on the computers in our respective offices. He’s upstairs and I’m downstairs. Obviously we can do Zoom meetings between each other, but I was wondering, is there some kind of video chat app that just works within the home network? The goal is to have something lightweight and easy to use that does not impose time limits. Question #2, is there a similar thing for regular non-video chat? p.s. We use Windows and I also have a Chromebook. Basically, I want to be able to ping him and say I want to do a video chat, and then do a video chat. I don’t want the video on all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/2 "2022-01-20T19:43:36Z")
What about just texting and using facetime with your phones? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/3 "2022-01-20T19:45:05Z")
How big is your house? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/4 "2022-01-20T19:47:48Z")
There doesn’t seem to be much out there for this, unless you want to spin up your own server for it, which seems like a lot of work for the benefit. Is your internet connection metered? If not, I’d just install Signal, which supports text, voice and video chats (it’s like Whatsapp, only not evil) ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/5 "2022-01-20T19:51:18Z")
It’s a 2000 sq ft condo. His office is directly above mine, although sometimes I’d be in an adjacent room. I’m googling for things but so far I’m finding text chat apps only. And we don’t want to use our phones for it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/6 "2022-01-20T19:53:13Z")
Might be worth searching for a standalone video intercom or something ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/7 "2022-01-20T19:54:57Z")
We’re too cheap! And I think there really must be something free out there, but I’m having a bit of trouble finding it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/8 "2022-01-20T19:55:22Z")
Signal has a desktop version, but to use it, you also need it installed on your phone ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/9 "2022-01-20T19:55:53Z")
Google Hangouts seems like it might work, if you both have Google accounts. If I have a Hangouts chat, I can hover over their name and I get an option to start a video call. Also, Facebook Messenger. I don’t know if Telegram does video calls over the browser. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/10 "2022-01-20T20:00:48Z")
Those are all good ideas, and I might use one of them, but I was looking for something that runs over a LAN and doesn’t need some kind of account, i.e. is just able to connect peer to peer, not by Google. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/11 "2022-01-20T20:03:15Z")
There are projects on GitHub that can be made to do that (typically things with scope to do internal video calling as part of a corporate telephony setup), but it doesn’t look like there’s anything you can just download and install as a simple app ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/12 "2022-01-20T20:05:31Z")
I’m finding a list [here](https://alternativeto.net/software/lan-messenger) and the ones that support video are MyChat, HCL Sametime and Output Messenger. I think they might not be free but they might be cheap… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/13 "2022-01-20T20:06:52Z")
Those sound like Homer Simpson’s list of HiFi brands ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/14 "2022-01-20T20:06:58Z")
If you don’t need video, there are many simple audio intercom systems which you could use to be able to talk on-demand with each other. Many cordless phones even have this capability. You can have one handset ring another handset. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/15 "2022-01-20T20:09:33Z")
I understand and sympathize with the OP’s question, and I don’t want to threadshit, but: moving around is healthier for you than sitting for long periods of time. So it might be worth it to let the desire to talk with your husband motivate you to get up and go talk to him in person. (My apologies if you are quarantining from each other or have mobility issues that hinder you from doing this.) ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/16 "2022-01-20T20:13:51Z")
@Thudlow_Boink No offense taken, you’re right about moving around! But am looking anyway. The three I listed above need me to set up a server, which is overkill for what I want to do. Maybe I’ll just end up using Hangouts. I don’t know! ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/17 "2022-01-20T20:38:46Z")
You could use [Jitsi Meet](https://jitsi.org/jitsi-meet/). It’s free, doesn’t require an account, and works directly from a web browser. Just point both browsers to `https://meet.jit.si/SOME_IDENTIFIER_HERE`, where `SOME_IDENTIFIER_HERE` is some longish phrase (or better yet, sequence of random characters) that would be difficult for the uninvited to guess. Bookmark that URL and you’ll be able to connect quickly, whenever you want. By default the video traffic goes over the web, but if you really want, you can install a Jitsi server and run it locally so that all communication stays on your local network. The server software is also free. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/18 "2022-01-20T20:53:15Z")
That’s pretty cool! It works great! ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/19 "2022-01-20T20:55:35Z")
Just what I was going to suggest. There are tonnes of these in-browser chat apps like Jitsi, [mediasoup](https://v3demo.mediasoup.org/), [Janus](https://janus.conf.meetecho.com/videoroomtest.html), etc ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125/20 "2022-01-20T21:15:06Z")
Thanks @psychonaut and @DPRK , those are the kind of thing I’ve been looking for. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-chat-app-for-within-home-network/958125.md?page=2)