1. Switch from Voice Call to FaceTime

When you are on a voice call with someone using the Phone app, you can quickly switch to a FaceTime call without disconnecting the call.

2. Start a FaceTime Call Using Siri

You can use Siri to create a FaceTime call without touching your phone.

3. Disable Your Video

You can have a FaceTime video call without enabling your camera if you so choose. Pro Tip: tap on the video camera icon to switch from FaceTime audio call to video. The other person needs to accept the video call request before the video call connects.

4. Mute on FaceTime

If you don’t want to contribute during a video call, you can mute yourself. Muting the audio comes in handy, especially when you are in a group or conference where someone is speaking, and you don’t want any noises coming from your end (background or otherwise) disrupting the call. In iOS 15, if you talk while your microphone is muted, you will be prompted to turn it on. You can keep it muted or enable it. This feature has been added because many times we forget that we have muted ourselves and we start talking without unmuting. Note: you cannot mute others on FaceTime.

5. Change Incoming Calls Style

Incoming calls would cover the iPhone’s entire screen prior to iOS 14. Thankfully, that changed with the introduction of banner-style calls in iOS 14. The incoming FaceTime calls no longer cover the full screen but instead appear as a banner at the top.

6. Add Animojis, Memojis, and Shapes

To spruce up your FaceTime calls, you can add emojis and animated stickers on your video screen. The stickers will stay as long as you don’t remove them. Pro Tip: slightly swipe up on the bar that holds the Emoji stickers, Stickers, Filters button, etc., to see their labels.

7. Add Filters

FaceTime lets you modify the appearance of your video by adding a filter to it.

8. Add Text Label

If you want to impress someone, add text labels during FaceTime. Let’s say you want to say you’re sorry, thank them, or that you miss them. Simply put these labels on the video and half of your job is done.

9. Zoom Your Video

If you want to show someone something that is far away from you, zooming in can help.

10. Use Portrait Mode

Do you want to blur your background in FaceTime calls? That’s possible with the Portrait mode feature available in devices with iOS 15. To do so, open “Control Center” while you are on a Facetime call. Long-press on the Video effects tile and enable Portrait mode. This mode will show a blurred background behind you.

11. Take Live Photos

It’s no secret that you can take a regular screenshot of your FaceTime call. But did you know that you can take a live photo of a FaceTime call?

12. FaceTime Android and Windows Users

If you are on iOS 15, you can FaceTime people outside of the Apple ecosystem, meaning Android and Windows users. This is possible with the help of shareable links in FaceTime, which only work on the Chrome and Edge browsers but on any device. To create shareable links, follow these steps: Please keep in mind that anyone with the link to the FaceTime call can join it.

13. Silence Join Requests

As you saw in the above tip, the creator of the FaceTime call will be notified whenever someone attempts to join the call. This can be distracting if many people are joining the call. Thankfully, FaceTime lets you disable the join request notifications.

What’s interesting about shareable links on FaceTime is that they don’t expire until you delete them. You can use them in the future to FaceTime with the same set of people.

15. Start FaceTime Calls from a Browser

Generally, people outside of the Apple ecosystem can only join FaceTime calls – they cannot create them. However, there’s a workaround to start a FaceTime call from browsers. Because the shareable links remain active on both ends until the creator deletes them, you can use the same to create FaceTime calls from Android and Windows devices. For that, you will need to ask the person with whom you want to FaceTime to send you the FaceTime joining link. Once you have the link, bookmark it, then open it anytime to start a FaceTime call from your end. The other person will be notified that someone wants to join the call. That’s it. They need to accept your invitation to join the call.

16. Choose Microphone Modes

With iOS 15, Apple introduced new machine learning-based features for filtering background noise and emphasizing your own audio. The first is the “Voice Isolation Mode,” which prioritizes your voice while blocking out background noise. The second feature is “Wide Spectrum Mode,” which allows others to hear everything going on around you.

17. Use FaceTime in Picture-in-Picture Mode

If you are using iOS 14 and above, you can multitask while being on a FaceTime call. This is possible with the Picture-in-Picture mode (PiP) mode, where your FaceTime screen will appear in a floating window. To do so, swipe up or press the Home button while you are on a FaceTime call. The video will start playing in a floating window that you can resize and move around on your screen.

18. Share Screen in FaceTime Call

iOS 15 lets you share your iPhone screen with other participants in a FaceTime call. Others can see whatever is visible on your screen. To turn off screen sharing, open FaceTime again and tap on the same Screen share button.

19. Watch Movies or Listen to Music Together

Want to watch movies or TV shows together with your friends in real-time through your phone? That’s possible with the help of the SharePlay feature in FaceTime that lets you sync music playlists and watch media with others. The shared content will start playing on your friend’s device as well. Note: make sure “Settings → FaceTime → SharePlay” is enabled to use this feature.

20. Record FaceTime Video and Audio

You can record FaceTime calls on your iPhone using the native screen recording functionality. Open Control Center while you are on a FaceTime call and tap on the “Screen recording” button to start recording the call. To record FaceTime audio as well, touch and hold the “Screen recording” button and tap on the “Microphone” button to turn it on. Tip: if you don’t find the Screen Recording button in Control Center, go to “Settings → Control Center” and enable “Screen recording.”

21. Use Email Address Instead of Phone Number

If you don’t want to share your phone number, others can FaceTime you using your email address as well.

Get the Most Out of FaceTime

Now that you’ve upped your knowledge regarding FaceTime, perhaps you want to explore more topics from the Apple ecosystem. Read on to learn how to sync iMessages from iOS and Mac or use “Find My” to protect and track your iPhone.