Morning FL.

We use Skype for vid calls New Zealand to the UK with no problem. This is either with a laptop or a tablet at both ends. Why ? Because the screens are bigger and it is more comfy. It is free. It is easy.

We did have Whatsapp for my phone but it was a bit of a bother really and I was uncomfy with giving out the phone number like that. Also Whatsapp doesn't translate to a laptop so it is more mobile to mobile -- or so it seemed to me. Blimmin' thing would ping at all sorts of hours from those overseas forgetting the time zones or thinking the odd hour was somehow ok. I got rid.

We will also use FaceBook messenger sometimes . That works all ways round , be it laptop, tablet or mobile phone. Of course one needs messenger for that. It does not require a phone number.

Only used Zoom a few times. It is quite good for group calls.

Thanks for the suggestions I have sent the Skype link so it is now up to them to either install or not and person doesn't know if their tablet has a built in web camera.

I've used Whats App in Canada, the UK and Switzerland without doing anything special. When I landed I carried on with the conversation I was having when I took off. Same with Teams. I expect all the voip services are seamless in that way. Why do you think these internet based tools would be sensitive to the user's location?

Hi Former Lancastrian

Yes, if they have Skype (regardless of whether Mac/Windows/Android) and you also use it, you can video chat or phone call for free. You have to find each other via Skype ID.

There is also Signal (WhatsApp is owned by Facebook/Meta and is not secure)

If you have Signal installed on both phones, you also have free video and call functionality.

I have it on my laptop which is very handy for calls or typing out longer messages (my children laugh at me typing with one finger on my phone so it takes me ages, but 100wpm on a keyboard!). Mine is a Mac, not sure about PC's but I assume you can get the app on those too. You can also set up restricted hours for WhatsApp notifications too. I have that for all of my phone notifications, bar contact from people that might need me in the middle of the night in an emergency i.e. my parents, brother, husband, children, sis-in-law etc, as we don't have a landline. Any other notifications on my phone are silenced after 8pm and before 8am.

I also use the 'snooze' function quite a lot on WhatsApp as some of the chats drive me mad but I need to be on them. For example, my son's rugby team has a chat for all parents and coaches, which is very useful for info on training sessions, cancellations of matches etc, but in-between those times it tends to be filled with lots of rubbish! So I snooze it until the day before a match.