You can now receive Google Duo video calls even without the app installed
In an effort to give users a true FaceTime alternative for Android, Google Duo was born. It was quick, painless and all you needed is your number to sign up and it synced right up with your contacts. Google has been trying their hardest to make the app and video calling as ubiquitous as possible, incorporating the app into other apps like the Dialer and bundling it with their core Google apps that come pre-loaded on most devices. Now they’re taking things a step further…
Some Android users are reporting the ability to receive Duo video calls, even without the app installed. You heard that right. Users don’t even need to register for the service in order to receive video calls — it just works. At the end of the call, the recipient will be asked to install Duo onto their device if they’d like to initiate a video call in the future, or they can reject future calls from that contact.
Apparently the app is using an Google Play services feature called App Preview Messaging, but it doesn’t work for everyone. You’ll need to have an Android device and it doesn’t work on iOS and while there are other factors at play here, it’s unclear exactly what those are so it’s still hit or miss. It’s possible Google could be planning to announce this feature more formally at a later date and maybe then they’ll have more concrete information for us. In the meantime, feel free to make those Duo video calls to whoever you like. It might just work.
via Android Police