Video Calls

Deaku's built-in video and audio calling lets you, your team, and other creators connect face-to-face without leaving the platform. Calls happen directly inside a Chat channel, so you can switch between messaging and video in one place.

Starting a call

You'll find the call buttons in the header of any Chat channel or Direct Message. There are two options:

• Video call (camera icon) — starts a call with your camera on
• Audio call (phone icon) — starts a call with your camera off; you can turn it on at any time during the call

Clicking either button creates the call and immediately sends a ring notification to every other member of the channel. If it’s a direct message channel, that’ll just be between you and that one other user in the channel.

On mobile and tablet, tapping a call button enters fullscreen automatically to give you the best experience.

Joining a call

When someone starts a call you're part of, an incoming call notification appears at the bottom of your screen. It shows:

• The caller's name and avatar
• Whether it is a video or audio call
• Your plan's time limit (Free plan only)

Tap Accept to join or Decline to dismiss.

If a call is already in progress in a channel, the call button changes to Join call. Tap it to join at any time.

The call interface

Once in a call, you'll see:

• Video tiles - participants' cameras are arranged automatically. The layout adjusts as people join or leave to make the best use of available space.
• Participant count - shown in the top-left. Tap it to open the Participants panel, which lists everyone in the call with their mic and camera status.
• Connection status - shows Ringing, Connected, or No answer depending on call state.
• Invite to call (person icon with a plus) - in a direct message call, add more people to the call.
• Return to workspace - appears if you switch to a different workspace during a call. Click it to go back to the workspace the call started in. The call keeps going either way.

If you're left alone in a call, it ends automatically after 5 minutes. A countdown banner lets you know before this happens.

Call controls

The control bar runs along the bottom of the call:

The microphone and camera buttons each have a small chevron (^) beside them - click it to switch between your available devices (e.g. different microphones or webcams) without leaving the call.

Screen sharing

Click Share screen to share your display. A screen share indicator (purple) appears on the button while sharing is active. Click again to stop.

Canvas sharing during a call

During a call you can create a shared Canvas that all participants can work on together in real time. Click the New Canvas icon (document icon) in the top-right of the call to create one. Everyone in the call receives an invite notification and can open the same canvas immediately. The canvas is saved in the channel as "Call Canvas".

Popout and fullscreen

Two display modes let you multitask:

• Pop out (external link icon) - detaches the call into a floating window so you can keep chatting in the channel behind it. Click the icon again to return the call inline.
• Fullscreen (expand icon) - expands the call to fill your browser window. Press Escape or click the icon again to exit.

Note: Pop out is only available on desktop.

Plan limits

Free plan time warnings

If you're on the Free plan, a timer appears in the call header showing how much time you have left. Other participants on paid plans are not affected. You'll see a warning 5 minutes and 1 minute before the limit, and a short grace period before you're removed from the call.

Receiving calls when you're elsewhere in the app

If a call comes in while you're in a different part of Deaku, the incoming call notification still appears. Accepting it navigates you to the relevant channel and joins the call.

Call cards in chat

Every call leaves a card in the chat where it happened. The card shows whether the call is in progress, missed or unanswered, and has a button to join a live call. From the card you can also see who joined, open any transcripts from the call, and view the call details.