How video calls work
Start a call - click the "camera" icon in a Team Chat conversation header to open the pre-call lobby.
Check your devices - preview your camera, watch your microphone level, and choose which devices to use before joining.
Answer an incoming call - other members get a call notification and can join or dismiss it.
Talk and collaborate - mute your mic, turn your camera on or off, share your screen, or blur your background.
Keep working - minimize the call to a small widget and stay active in the rest of Inbox.
Leave when you're done - the call continues for everyone else until the last person disconnects.
Configuration details
1. Starting a call
Open a conversation in Team Chat and click the "camera" icon in the conversation header.
A pre-call lobby opens where you preview your camera image, watch a live microphone level meter, and choose your microphone and camera from the device dropdowns. You can toggle your mic and camera on or off before joining, then click "Start video meeting" to begin.
Your microphone and camera are always on by default each time the lobby opens - settings from a previous call don't carry over.
2. Answering an incoming call
When someone starts a call in a conversation you belong to, you get an incoming call toast anywhere in Inbox, along with a ringtone. The toast shows the caller's name and avatar, plus the channel name and type icon for group conversations. Click "Accept" to open the conversation and the lobby, or "Dismiss" to close the toast - you can still join later from the conversation. The ringtone is suppressed if you're already in another call.
3. Joining an ongoing call
While a call is active, a "Join video meeting" button appears in the conversation header - this is the main way to join. Conversations with an active call also show a pulsing green dot in the conversation list, with a "Video meeting in progress" tooltip. If you left a call that's still running, a "Return to call" button lets you rejoin. Once the last participant leaves, the call ends and all join options disappear - there's no way to rejoin an ended call.
4. Using in-call controls
During a call you can mute or unmute your microphone, and turn your camera on or off - when a participant's camera is off, their tile shows their avatar or initials instead. You can switch your microphone or camera at any point from the device dropdowns. Screen sharing lets you share your entire screen, and you can stop and restart sharing at any point during the call. Background blur applies with one click and only affects your own video for other participants. The participants panel lists everyone on the call with a search box, a live count ("People (N)"), a speaking indicator, and each person's muted state.
5. Minimizing and multitasking
Click minimize to shrink the call into a small floating widget while you keep working elsewhere in Inbox - the widget stays connected as you move between Team Chat, Help Desk, Settings, and Search. The widget is draggable and shows whoever is currently speaking, not your own camera preview. Click "Restore" to bring back the full call view; you can also leave the call directly from the widget.
6. Reviewing the call record
Every call leaves a trace in the conversation feed: a "Video meeting started" system message when it begins, and a "Video meeting ended" message with the call's duration (for example, "Duration: 12m 30s") when it finishes. This keeps a permanent record of when calls happened and how long they lasted, in the same thread as the written conversation.
Key features
Browser-based calling: calls run directly in Team Chat with no external app or meeting link.
Pre-call lobby: preview your camera and check your microphone level before you join.
Screen sharing: share your entire screen at any point during the call.
Background blur: blur your background in one click; it only changes what others see of you.
Participants panel: see who's on the call, search participants, and check who's speaking or muted.
Minimizable widget: stay connected to a call while working anywhere else in Inbox.
Automatic call records: start and end system messages capture who started the call and how long it lasted.
Important notes
Available only on the Inbox Plus plan.
Up to 20 participants can join a single video meeting.
You can only be in one call at a time, in one browser tab. Starting or joining another call while already in one prompts you to end the current call first; if a call is open in another tab, you'll need to close it there before joining here.
You must be a member of the conversation to join its call. If you're removed from the channel, or the channel is deleted, mid-call, you're disconnected automatically.
If camera access is denied, you can still join with audio only. If microphone access is denied, you'll need to grant permission in your browser and try again.
Calls can only be started from Team Chat conversation headers, not from Help Desk - though a minimized call stays connected as you move around Inbox.
External phone (PSTN) calls aren't supported - calls are browser-to-browser between Inbox users only.