Android
Houseparty App: 5 Things to Know in 2020
Houseparty is a popular app that allows you to have a virtual houseparty with friends. If you are looking to connect or to host a virtual happy hour, this is a great option. The Houseparty app works on iPhone and Android, but you can also use it on your Mac or in Google Chrome.
We’ll explain what the Houseparty app is, what you need to know about it and how it works. You can also use this app to play games with friends, chat or jump on a video call. Since it works on almost any system, it’s easy to find your friends.
While it was originally very popular with teens and college students, the Houseparty app is seeing renewed interest from more users as they look to stay connected in an age of social distancing while we all work together to flatten the curve of Coronavirus.
What is Houseparty?
What you need to know about the Houseparty app.
The Houseparty app is a video chat application that allows friends to jump in and out of a Houseparty room to chat with each other. It’s not like a Skype or FaceTime call that requires invites or that specifically rings a friend. It’s a more open platform, but it’s not wide open for anyone to join your chat randomly.
If you do want to invite friends you can send an invite via text or iMessage that will direct users right to the app. And there are notifications that can help you find a Houseparty to join. When in the app you need friends using it to really get a good experience.
Download Houseparty on iPhone, Android, Mac or Chrome.
Is Houseparty Free?
The Houseparty app is free to use without any real limits. You can make in-app purchases to play Heads Up in the app. This is the popular Heads Up app and you can buy cards for 99 cents per pack.
What Parents Need to Know About Houseparty
The Houseparty app is rated 12+ on iTunes and Teen on Google Play. Alone the app does not contain any objectionable material.
Parents will like that you cannot jump into a video chat with a stranger, but you can video chat with friends and friends of friends.
Ultimately the content that you see and hear in the app depends on the friends who join and their friends or other people who are invited to the Houseparty group video chat.
Houseparty Tips
Do more with Houseparty tips and send app feedback.
You can control some of the app to change the experience, but for the most part, there is not a lot that you can do to change the experience.
You can Mute the Mic if you don’t want to leave a room, but you need to talk without people in the room hearing you.
Another option is to Flip the camera to show the front or rear camera view. Most of the time it will be the front-facing camera so you are on the screen and able to see, but sometimes you will want to show off a cool view or activity with the front-facing camera. No matter which camera you use, look for brighter areas to use the app for better video quality.
You can also lock the room to prevent others from joining it if you only want a certain set of users to be part of this video chat.
Houseparty Problems
There are some Houseparty problems that you will run into.
If you have Houseparty problems you should make sure that your app is up to date, but there are some other things to keep in mind.
Some users complain that the Houseparty connection slows when more than four people join a Houseparty session and that they can get kicked out of the app when it crashes.
You should try using WiFi for a better connection and if possible re-install the app to try and fix crashing errors or other problems.
Some users don’t like the plethora of notifications that come whenever someone joins a Houseparty room, but there is currently no option to limit those inside of a room. You can tap the little bell next to a friend to stop getting notifications from that person though.
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Other Houseparty app problems include a dark front-facing camera, no sound, no video, and muted microphones. When any of these happen you may need to restart the app, restart the phone or reinstall the app to see if that resolves it.
One of the biggest complaints is that the Houseparty app drains your iPhone battery very fast. There’s no workaround for this as apps that use data, video cameras and the microphone will drain your battery faster than many other apps.
Shake the phone to report a problem to the developers, which can help you get it fixed faster than if you just leave a review.
Todd T Rosemann
11/22/2017 at 5:01 pm
I had to install the app on my phone and re down load it and now it is not allowing me to logg into my old account i for got my email that i used and password how do i recover it
Skype Matt
11/27/2017 at 5:17 pm
This app is just like Skype lol I had Skype for years and you can do that exact same stuff if you know how lol, I hope it gets removed for copyright!
Michael
01/20/2019 at 2:19 am
How do I add a friend to the best friend list, I cannot find a way to do so, I’m on a Samsung Galaxy S9+ with Android 8 “Oreo”..?!
Silent_Commenter
02/11/2019 at 5:15 am
You cannot add a friend to the best friends list you have to talk to them a lot so the person you chat with the most is your best friend. But of course you can have more than one best friend on Houseparty.
Anonymous
06/05/2019 at 9:03 am
For how long do you have to chat with someone for them to be best friends?
Silent_Commenter
02/11/2019 at 5:15 am
You cannot add a friend to the best friends list you have to talk to them a lot so the person you chat with the most is your best friend. But of course you can have more than one best friend on Houseparty.