An unprecedented result of COVID-19? A boom in virtual meeting apps and interestingly, a need to stay connected. It’s wonderful that in times of social distancing, humans are increasing their virtual socialising. And that’s why, we’ve curated a list of virtual meeting apps—both professional and personal—so you can continue to stay connected with your friends, family and remote teams.

Houseparty

Houseparty lets you host virtual parties with up to eight friends via video calls. What makes it incredibly sticky? A host of built-in games such as Trivia, Heads Up and Guac & Chips. 
Ideal for: Friends and coworkers to catch-up for a break
What we love: The game Quick Draw, where your friends guess what you are doodling in real-time

Netflix Party

Miss going to the movies? Netflix’ Google Chrome extension allows you and your friends to watch Netflix together without having to be in the same room. 
Ideal for: Catching up with friends 
What we love: A chat room feature that makes it a truly social experience

Squad 

A squad that consumes content together, stays together. Chat, video call, and screen-share YouTube, TikTok videos and so on, with up to nine friends with Squad. 
Ideal for: Catching up with friends 
What we love: The screenshare option that lets you watch videos together with your friends

Facebook Messenger

Let’s face it—your parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents, even, are on Facebook. Catch up with up to eight of them with Facebook Messenger‘s free video calls with no duration limit. 
Ideal for: Family catch-ups
What we love: A bunch of face filters to liven up your conversation 

Zoom

Zoom is one of the most popular business video conference apps out there, thanks to its reliability and solid video call quality. With its free plan, you can host an unlimited number of meetings with a 40-minute duration limit. For remote teams, the paid plans come with an array of features like unlimited cloud storage, admin dashboard, and company branding. If you’re looking to conduct webinars with a large number of participants, we’d recommend Zoom.
Ideal for: Webinars and remote team meetings
What we love: The option to add a fun virtual background