Forget Houseparty, Google Duo now supports 12 people in a video call

Last year, Google increased the total of people who can join video call on Google Duo to 8.

The announcement comes at a time when countries have been placed under a lockdown due to coronavirus outbreak. (Reuters)

Coronavirus outbreak has confined people in their homes owing to a lockdown that has been enforced in countries across the globe. Amid the present scenario, people have taken to video calling and video conferencing apps to connect with their near and dear ones and their colleagues. At a time when video calling apps are booming, Google has increased the total number of people users can add in a video in its video calling app, Duo.

Google Duo earlier supported eight people in a video call at a time. Now, this limit has been increased to 12 people.

The news comes as a courtesy of the company's Senior Director of Product & Design Lead Sana Ahari, who took to Twitter to make the announcement. "We are grateful that Duo is helping users see their loved ones all around the world. We recognize group calling is particularly critical right now. We have increased group calling from 8 participants to 12 effective today. More to come," she wrote in her tweet.

What's interesting is that this is a server side update. This means that you don't have to update your smartphones, laptops and smart displays to chat with more than eight people at a time using Google Duo. The update will automatically be downloaded on your smartphones.

However, if you are looking for an app that offers a far greater limit, you can opt for Google's Hangout Meet, which supports 100 people and Skype, which supports up to 50 people in a group video call.