Making calls in Slack
When you need to talk things out with a teammate, you can use Slack Calls to make a voice or video call to anyone in your workspace.
What to expect
- On any subscription, you can start a voice or video call with at least one other person from a direct message (DM).
- On the Standard, Plus and Enterprise Grid subscriptions, you can start a voice or video call from a group DM or a channel and share your screen. Calls can have a maximum of 15 participants.
- If an owner or admin has set a default calling app for your workspace, your call may start in another app.
Note: Slack Calls can only be used to make calls within Slack.
Start a call
If you’re using the free version of Slack, you can start a call in a DM with one other person. If your workspace is on the Standard, Plus or Enterprise Grid subscription, you can also start a call in a group DM or a channel and share your screen.
Desktop
iOS
Android
From a DM
- Open a DM and click the phone icon in the top right.
- Your call will start right away and the member(s) that you're calling will receive a pop-up notification to join the call.
- If you like, you can click the camera icon to turn on your video.
Note: If the person you're calling has do not disturb turned on, they'll see a missed call notification in the DM.
From a channel
- Open a channel and click on the details icon in the top right.
- Click on Call, then select Start call to confirm.
- Slack will post a message to the channel letting others know that you've started a call. Up to 14 people can join the call by choosing Join.
- If you like, you can click the camera icon to turn on your video.
From a DM
- Open a DM and tap the details icon in the top right.
- Tap Call [member’s name].
- Your call will start right away and the member(s) that you're calling will receive a pop-up notification to join the call.
- If you like, you can tap the camera icon to turn on your video.
From a channel
- Open a channel and tap the details icon in the top right.
- Tap Start a call.
- Choose a name for your call if you like, then tap Start.
- Slack will post a message to the channel letting others know that you've started a call. Up to 14 people can join the call by choosing Join.
- If you like, you can tap the camera icon to turn on your video.
From a DM
- Open a DM and tap the details icon in the top right.
- Tap Start a call.
- Your call will start right away and the member(s) that you're calling will receive a pop-up notification to join the call.
- If you like, you can tap the camera icon to turn on your video.
From a channel
- Open a channel and tap the details icon in the top right.
- Tap Start a call.
- Choose a name for your call if you like, then tap Start.
- Slack will post a message to the channel letting others know that you've started a call. Up to 14 people can join the call by choosing Join.
- You can tap the camera icon to turn on your video in a call.
Tip: To quickly start a call from a conversation, you can type the /call slash command in the message field.
Invite others to a call
If your workspace is on the Standard, Plus or Enterprise Grid subscription, you can invite others to a call that's already started. A maximum of 15 people can participate.
Desktop
iOS
Android
On your desktop, you can invite people directly from a call that you’re on, or share a link to a call in a channel or DM.
Invite other people to a call
- Click Add people in the top left of the call window.
- Search for and select the people that you’d like to invite to the call.
- Click Invite.
Share a call link
- Click Add people in the top left of the call window.
- Click Copy link.
- Paste the call link in the message field of a channel or DM and send it. Up to 14 people can join the call by choosing Join.
- From the call that you’re on, swipe up from the bottom of your screen to view more call options.
- Tap Add people.
- Search for and select the people that you’d like to invite to the call.
- Tap Invite.
- From the call that you’re on, swipe up from the bottom of your screen to view more call options.
- Tap Add people.
- Search for and select the people that you’d like to invite to the call.
- Tap Invite.
Set your Slack Calls preferences
If you like, you can set the following preferences for Slack Calls:
- Always join Slack Calls with your audio muted
- Automatically set your status to 📞 On a call when you're on a call
- From your desktop, click on your profile picture in the top right.
- Select Preferences from the menu.
- Click Accessibility.
- Below When joining a Slack Call, tick or untick the box next to your preferences.
Note: If you ever need extra help with Slack call features, visit Troubleshoot Slack Calls.