Working from home? The best Zoom alternatives to download

Are you lucky enough to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic? If the answer is yes, you have probably used Zoom to meet your video conferencing needs. While everyone has used Zoom, it doesn’t mean it’s the best choice. As you may have heard, there are concerns about various leaks, accounts being sold on the dark web, and the attraction of malware attacks.

So if you have to work from home during this time, but you no longer feel comfortable using Zoom, that’s fine. Here are some alternatives to Zoom you should try.

Jitsi

Jitsi is a collection of free and open-source multiplatform voice, video conferencing, and instant messaging for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and Android. It has features such as call transfer, auto reconnect, call recording, conference calls, encrypted password storage with a master password, encryption for instant messaging and calls, and group video support.

If you’re curious about how to use the group conference feature, go to meet.jit.si For more information.

Skype

Skype is as tested, true and free as ever. It has a new feature called “Skype Meet Now”, which can meet up to 50 users at the same time. The bonus is that you don’t need an account to use it, just a link to click on. The downside is that it doesn’t have the big bells and whistles that a paid conference service would have. Still, it’s free and Skype has been around for a while.

Google Hangouts

In terms of Zoom alternative, Google Hangouts is probably the strongest competitor. The free version of Google Hangouts allows 150 users to connect to a conversation, provided they have a Google account. If you’re willing to pay the cash for the paid version of Hangouts, the world really opens up for you.

With the paid version of Google Hangouts, you can have 250 participants on a phone call, give presentations, record meetings, and easily send links to people outside your company if needed.

Disagreement

If you’re a gamer, chances are you’ve probably used Discord before. This free communication app gives you an encrypted chat, message and video calls. You can also set up special servers, which can look like Slack’s rooms, that can also host video and text chats. So if you have to split teams, this is easy and intuitive to use. Discord seats 50 people and the app is available on most browsers and devices.