Group video chat app Houseparty is taking off thanks to social distancing

Group video chat app Houseparty is taking off thanks to social distancing.

The coronavirus pandemic has got us all staying indoors more as we move to distance ourselves socially in order to "flatten the curve". It's no surprise then that as we turn to remote ways of staying connected, popular apps like Houseparty are taking off.

House party is a face-to-face social networking app that lets you contact your friends by video, and compete in fun arcade games like Quick Draw. The best bit? It works on both iOS and Android

From the app's App Store listing:

Houseparty is the face-to-face social network where you can connect with the people you care about most. The app makes connecting face to face effortless, alerting you when your friends are "in the house" and ready to chat so you can jump right into the conversation. The same goes for you opening the app! Your friends will know you're in the app and ready to chat, so they can join you (…because rejected calls are so last year). Houseparty is truly the next best thing to hanging out in person. See your friends more often on Houseparty.

To use Houseparty you only need iOS 9.0 on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Over on Android, you only need to be running Android 4.4. There are in-app purchases, but both apps are totally free and as mentioned can be used across platforms, so it breaks down the iOS/Android barrier in a way apps like FaceTime can't!