How to Use Houseparty on macOS

Chatting on Houseparty

1. Open Houseparty. You'll find it in the Applications folder. Once Houseparty is open, you will see an icon of a hand in the menu bar at the top-right area of the screen.

   1. If Houseparty ever gets hidden behind another window, click that hand icon to bring it back into view.

2. Add some friends. If you didn't import contacts when installing Houseparty (or you just have a new friend to add), type a friend's username into the Search field at the top of the app to search. When you find your friend, click Add to send them a request.

   1. If you don't know your friend's username, click the green COPY PROFILE LINK button to copy your profile link, and then send that link to a friend using any messaging app. Your friend can follow the instructions in the link to add you.
   2. If you know the username of the person you want to add, you can just type it into the "Search" bar at the top of the app and click Add when the correct person appears in the search results.

3. Click Go Online when you're ready to chat. It's at the top-right corner of Houseparty. Your camera will activate and the "Go Online" button will change to "Here."

   1. You can toggle your status back off by clicking the Here button.

4. Click the phone receiver to start a video call. Each of your contacts has a phone receiver icon. Click the phone to place a video call to a contact. If the person answers, you'll be able to see one another on the screen.

   1. To join an existing video call, click Join next to a contact's name.
   2. You can toggle your video camera and/or microphone on or off by clicking the associated icons at the bottom of the window.

5. Use the padlock to toggle the chat's privacy. If you see an open padlock at the bottom of the video, your contacts (and/or your friend's contacts) can join the chat by clicking Join next to your names. If you'd rather the conversation be private, click it to close the padlock.^[4]

   1. All members of the conversation can toggle the padlock on or off at any time.
   2. If you're in a locked (private) chat, the words "In a locked room" will appear next to your name on your friends' contact lists.

6. Tell other friends to join. As long as your current video call is unlocked, any of your contacts can click Join to join the party. You can tell others to join by clicking their name(s) in your contact list and sending a message (called "Passing a Note" in Houseparty).

   1. All group members' video feeds will appear on the same screen while you chat instead of switching back and forth like other apps.

7. Click the computer icon to share your screen (optional). If you'd like the people on the call to see what's on your computer screen, click the computer icon at the bottom of the video window and select which part of the screen to share.

8. Click the X to leave the conversation. This turns off your camera and disconnects you from the party.

   1. If other people are still in the conversation, they'll remain online even if you started the call.