During a call
Once a call is ringing or connected, HushChat takes over the screen with the call. Everything you need — mute, camera, speaker, hang up — sits in one bar at the bottom.
Answer or decline an incoming call
An incoming call announces itself wherever you are in the app.
On iPhone and Android the call takes over the whole screen, with a red Decline button and a green Answer button. On the web and on tablets, a compact card appears at the top of the screen with the same two round buttons.
The card shows who is calling and what kind of call it is:
| Line | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Title | The caller's name, or the group name for a group call |
| Subtitle | Incoming call, Incoming video call, or, in a group, the caller's name followed by is calling |
Answering a video call turns your camera on automatically. If your camera is unavailable, you still join — with audio only.
On Android, a call that arrives while HushChat is closed or in the background rings as a full-screen
system notification titled Incoming call or Incoming video call, with Answer and Decline
buttons you can use straight from the lock screen. If it rings out, it is replaced by a
Missed call notification. On the web and on iOS, incoming calls arrive while the app is open.
The call screen
The top of the screen shows the conversation name, and directly under it a status line:
Ringing…while you are waiting for someone to pick up.- A running timer, counting from the moment the first person connects.
- A closing message once the call is over.
When there is no video to show, the middle of the screen lists everyone who was rung, with their current state beside their name.
| State | What it means |
|---|---|
Ringing… | Still being rung — they have not answered yet |
In call | They answered and are connected |
Declined | They turned the call down, or were already on another call |
No answer | They did not pick up before the call rang out |
Left | They were on the call and have since hung up |
As soon as video arrives — a camera or a shared screen — it fills the screen instead, and your own camera preview sits in a small tile above the controls.
The controls
| Control | What it does | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | Turns your camera on or off mid-call | Direct calls only |
| Screen share | Shares your screen instead of your camera | Direct calls only — see Share your screen |
| Microphone | Mutes and unmutes you | Every call |
| Speaker | Switches between the earpiece and the loudspeaker | iOS and Android only |
| Hang up | The red button — leaves the call | Every call |
Each control is highlighted while its state is switched on — camera running, screen being shared, microphone muted, loudspeaker on — so a glance at the bar tells you where you stand.
Video calls start on the loudspeaker and audio calls start on the earpiece, which is usually what you want. Use the speaker button when it is not.
Hanging up
Select the red button to leave.
- In a direct call, hanging up ends the call for both of you.
- In a group call, hanging up only removes you. The call carries on for everyone still in it, and ends by itself once fewer than two people remain.
The screen stays up for a moment afterwards with a closing message, then clears:
| Message | What happened |
|---|---|
Call ended | The call was answered and has now finished |
No answer | It rang out without being answered |
Call declined | The other side turned it down |
Call cancelled | The caller hung up before it was answered |
Busy | The person you called was already on another call |
Group too large | The group has too many members to call |
Calls disabled | This call type is turned off for the workspace |
A brief network drop does not end a call. Someone who disconnects has a few seconds to reconnect before they are treated as having left.
What the call leaves behind
Every call writes one line into the conversation when it ends — a centred note, in the timeline, alongside the messages. It is written once and stays there, so you can scroll back to it later.
| Outcome | What the note says |
|---|---|
| Answered | The caller's name, then started a call, then how long it lasted — for example 12 min or 40 sec |
| Not answered, and you were the caller | You started a call · No answer |
| Not answered, and you were called | Missed call from followed by the caller's name |
The note appears for everyone in the conversation the moment the call ends — no refresh needed. It never shows a duration for a call nobody answered.