Audio and video calls

You can call someone you're already in a conversation with. Calls happen inside Ontryst — your phone number is never shared.

Starting a call

Open the conversation and use the call button in the header. The other person gets a ringing notification; if they don't pick up, nothing is left behind but a missed-call entry.

Calls aren't time-limited at the moment — Ontryst is free while we grow. See Is Ontryst free?.

What's needed

• Permissions. The first call asks for microphone and, for video, camera access. Deny it and the call can't connect. Grant it later in your phone's settings under Ontryst.
• A decent connection. Video needs noticeably more than messaging. On a weak signal, audio will hold up long after video stops being usable.

If the other person can't hear you

Almost always microphone permission, or the phone's own mute. Check:

1. Ontryst has microphone permission in your phone's settings.
2. You aren't muted in the call — the control is on the call screen.
3. Nothing else is holding the microphone. Another app in a call will take it exclusively.

If video is frozen or black

• Check camera permission.
• Switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data.
• Turn video off and back on — that renegotiates the stream without dropping the call.

Video that freezes while audio continues is a bandwidth problem, not a bug.

Privacy

Calls are between the two of you. Your phone number isn't revealed by calling, and screenshots are restricted in conversations. Being on a call doesn't change who can see you in discovery.

If this didn't help, tell support

Contact us from Settings → Talk to us, or email support@ontryst.com, with:

• iPhone or Android, and the app version
• whether it fails to connect, or connects with bad quality
• whether it's audio, video, or both
• roughly when the call was, so we can line it up

That last one matters — with an approximate time we can find the specific call rather than guessing.