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Google adds video message feature to Duo

Users of Google's video calling app can now leave voicemail-like messages when their calls aren't answered.
Written by Stephanie Condon, Senior Writer
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Google on Tuesday began rolling out a voicemail-like option for its video calling app Duo.

If a user calls someone with Duo and their call is missed or declined, the user can record a video or voice message that's up to 30 seconds long. After recording the message, the user is prompted to send it. The recipient can play the message by tapping on the sender's icon in Duo. The message will disappear within a day after it's viewed, but the repicient can choose to save it locally to their phone.

As with all Duo calls, the messages are encrypted end to end.

Duo was released in the summer of 2016, going up against Apple's Facetime as well as competing video calling features from Skype and Facebook's WhatsApp and Messenger. Google isn't sharing figures related to how many people are using Duo, though it's been downloaded more than 100 million times on Android and is among the top 20 social networking apps on the Apple App Store.

The new feature begins rolling out on Android and iOS on Tuesday and will be live worldwide within a few days, Google says.

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