01Yes, and you are looking at it
Does ChillHub have an app?
Yes. The ChillHub app is the website itself. You open chillhub.chat in the browser on your phone or computer and the whole thing is there: matching, live video, messages, the people you follow. There is no store page to hunt for.
A video call used to mean a download and an account at both ends; today a web page does it on its own. That makes ChillHub useful in exactly the moments when installing something is a nuisance: a work laptop you are not allowed to change, a phone with a full memory, a friend's tablet, or a simple wish to try one call before committing to anything. When you close the tab there is no app left on the device, only the shortcut if you added one.
If you like the feel of an app, you can pin ChillHub to your home screen. You may also notice a small "Get ChillHub App" bar at the bottom of a page. It is an invitation to do the same thing: put the site on your home screen. Nothing is fetched from a store either way.
02Three devices, three sets of taps
How do I add ChillHub to my home screen?
With a feature your browser already has. Pick your device below. The browser saves a shortcut that opens the site like an app.
- 01
On an iPhone or iPad
Open chillhub.chat in Safari. Tap the Share button, scroll to Add to Home Screen, and confirm. The ChillHub icon appears beside your other apps.
- 02
On an Android phone
Open chillhub.chat in Chrome. Tap the three-dot menu, choose Add to Home screen or Install app, and confirm. The icon lands on your home screen.
- 03
On a Windows PC or a Mac
Open chillhub.chat in Chrome or Edge. Open the browser menu and look for the option to install the site or create a shortcut. It then opens in its own window.
Menu names shift a little between browser versions. If you cannot find the option, look for the words "Home Screen" or "Install" in the browser's share or main menu.
03From the icon
What is different when I open ChillHub from the icon?
Mostly the frame around it. Opened from the home screen, ChillHub appears under its own icon and name, in its own window, without the row of tabs. It sits in your app switcher like anything else you have installed.
What you can do is the same. Start video chat is where it was, and so is Who's online. It is the same site, opened a different way.
Two things are worth knowing. The first time you start a call from the icon, you may be asked again for the camera and microphone; say yes as before. And opening from the home-screen icon usually carries on the session you had in the browser; if it does not, you simply come in as a new guest. That is the best reason to sign in once you have people you want to keep.
04Another phone, another browser
What happens to the people I follow if I change device?
It depends on whether you are a guest. A guest session belongs to the browser where it began. Open ChillHub on a second phone, or in a different browser on the same phone, and you begin as a new guest there, with an empty list.
Signing in is what ties the people you follow to you and not to one browser. If you use ChillHub on both a phone and a laptop, or you are about to replace your phone, sign in first. Adding the icon again on the new device takes the same few taps as before; how ChillHub works has a short section on accounts.
05Side by side
Installed app or browser site: what actually changes?
The picture and sound travel the same way whether you use an installed app or a site in a browser. The differences are in everything you do before and after.
Installed app compared with a site in the browser | Installed video chat app | ChillHub in the browser |
|---|
| Getting it | Find it in a store, download, open. | Type the address or tap your home-screen icon. |
| Storage | Takes space on the phone, and more with each update. | There is no package to store. It is a web page. |
| Updates | Arrive as downloads you have to accept. | Already applied when the page loads. |
| Permissions | Often asked for at install. | The browser asks for camera and microphone when a call starts. |
| Steps to a first call | Install, create an account, build a profile, then call. | Open, tap Start, allow the camera, talk. |
| On a borrowed device | Not practical. | Works; close the tab when you are done. |
Weighing up friend apps in general? The seven checks on apps to make friends apply to installed and browser ones alike.
06Phones
Does it work as a video call app on my phone?
Yes. On a phone ChillHub behaves the way you would expect a video call app to: the other person fills the screen, your own picture sits in a corner, and the controls are within reach of your thumb. It works in Safari on iPhone and in Chrome on Android, over Wi-Fi or mobile data.
Two small tips. Hold the phone upright, since that is the shape calls are designed for. And if the picture stutters, move closer to the router or switch from mobile data to Wi-Fi; video cares more about a steady connection than a fast one. The call itself, a 1 on 1 call in your browser, is the same on every device.
07Permissions
Why does the browser ask for my camera and microphone?
Because a video call cannot happen without them, and browsers are strict about asking first. The request appears when you start your first call. Allowing it lets ChillHub use the camera and microphone while you are on the site.
You stay in charge of it. You can withdraw the permission in your browser's site settings, usually reached from the padlock or settings icon in the address bar. If you said no by accident, the same place lets you change it back, and the help center walks through it for each device. More on staying comfortable on a call is on the safety page.
08Tidying up
How do I remove ChillHub from my home screen?
The same way you remove any icon. On an iPhone, press and hold the icon and choose to remove it. On Android, press and hold and drag it to Remove or Uninstall. On a computer, open the ChillHub window, use its menu and choose to uninstall, or remove it from your list of browser apps.
Removing the icon removes the shortcut. On a shared device you can also clear the site data for chillhub.chat in the browser settings. Bear in mind that clearing data ends a guest session for good.
09Cost and files
Is it a free video chat app, and is there a file to install?
It is free to start, and adding it to your home screen costs nothing. The longer answer, including the Reward Center and coins, is on Is ChillHub free?.
There is no install file. ChillHub is used through the browser at chillhub.chat, and this site does not offer a package to download and run. The address in your browser is the app. For everything you can do once it is open, see the features page.
