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Video / Voice call in Direct Messages / Rooms #2743
Description
Just as element & discord supports both video and voice calls in any rooms, so should Cinny.
Requiring voice/video to only be possible in dedicated "call" rooms is needlessly limiting and entirely eliminates the utility of calling someone 1:1. Having to create separate rooms for any given call is very cumbersome.
So the proposal is to add a "call" button just like element/discord to any room. Both of those split the calls into Video & Voice, although it would be perfectly acceptable to have only a voice call button as long as the call is started with support for video.
Examples of what the buttons look like:
Element:
Discord:
This is an essential part of Voice/Video calling and now that the core calling functionality has been merged, it should be a lot more straightforward to include this change.
Activity
ajbura commentedon Mar 9, 2026
I think we should only allow to call in Direct Chat room only. And hide the functionality in normal normal community chat rooms (but allow to join if any other client started the call).
CEbbinghaus commentedon Mar 9, 2026
Why artificially limit the ability to call in rooms. What benefit does it provide to the user? It is a arbitrary limitation that decreases UX.
Take this very real world example. Me and my friends have a groupchat for chatting and posting memes. Now if I wanted to call everybody who is in this groupchat, I would now need to either
A: download a different client, start the call in the other client, then either just continue using another client, or leave and join back on cinny once another member has joined...
B: Create a second Call only room, invite everybody and now maintain 2 different rooms, one for chatting and one for calling. (I know you can chat in a call room. but it is FAR less ergonomic).
Both of those options are frankly unacceptable from a UX standpoint and if cinny were to go down that route, It would incentivize me further to move off off cinny and towards element.
As these are all arbitrary limitations, it begs to question why we are enforcing these particular boundaries when every other example out in the wild points to users (including me) wanting these features.
LinuxinaBit commentedon Mar 10, 2026
That's a fair decision, but as someone in a few Matrix rooms already using workflows with calls in standard rooms, creating unnecessary barriers when switching from other Matrix clients to Cinny isn't great, and Matrix is nicely optimized for a one-room experience which I would prefer not be artificially limited.
ajbura commentedon Mar 14, 2026
things that need to be consider before allowing call in normal rooms:
anything else?
LinuxinaBit commentedon Mar 14, 2026
That sounds good. Might be a good idea to make calls a separate notification category in the room settings, but that really depends on how you want to go about the whole call notification process in general.
ajbura commentedon May 7, 2026
Didn't implemented the last one, one might get confused when expecting to join the call and do not have permission. It now show that "you don't have permission" with standard prescreen visible as long as call go.
MerijnHendriks commentedon May 11, 2026
Gave it a test in in the test instance!
For the call logo in the top bar:
I tested this with "normal" (read: tech clueless) users and they had the same findings independently.
CEbbinghaus commentedon May 11, 2026
Even on discord mobile, there is just a "call" button with no dropdown. It doesn't make sense to require 2 clicks when it is so trivial to turn video on and off within the call. I would heavily lean towards a single voice call button that takes you straight to the call, and the ability to switch on camera if required.
kfiven commentedon May 15, 2026
Two button eliminate starting call mistakenly but we have added right click quick start shortcut to accommodate the friction. Dropdown is similar to what is used across the interface.
CEbbinghaus commentedon May 16, 2026
That is the opposite of what people expect...
You Right click to open the dropdown options and left click to action the button immediately...
Every software out in the wild has a single click call. Teams, discord, telegram, even element does. People are used to this behavior and cinny breaking the mould isn't innovating but instead creating friction.
I would add a setting to allow people to invert this behavior at the very least.
However another option to prevent accidental clicks is to show the call screen 2-3 seconds before the actual call connection is made (if that is possible). Then have ESC or the hang up button cancel the call before it ever gets placed.
That way accidental presses aren't a problem and the user interface is only minimally impacted.
However. Having said all this. As it stands the feature is fine. There is nothing broken about It and I would like to thank the developers for their hard work. These are merely small friction points.
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