Selfie Mode in the Web App, Account Time Zone and More

We are happy to announce a new update to the Gruveo web app that adds a number of great new features.

First, you can now use Selfie Mode in browser calls. If you are a plumber and a customer is calling to show you a leak, they can now tap their video preview to make it full screen and ensure that every little detail is visible to you. Likewise, if you are selling physical goods, you can take advantage of Selfie Mode to make sure your product looks its best on the other end of the call.

Own video preview in the Gruveo web app is now draggable, too – just like in our mobile apps. You can drag and place it in any of the four screen corners during a call, and Gruveo will remember the position of the preview between your calls.

Finally, you now can set an account-wide time zone in Gruveo. The account time zone is used for displaying all dates and times in your account as well as the notification emails (bye-bye, UTC times in the "missed call" messages!). To set the time zone, simply head on to your Gruveo account settings.

The new release also features a great deal of fixes and optimizations under the hood. Enjoy!

Gruveo Now Supports Third-Party and In-App Browsers on iOS

When Apple added WebRTC support to the Safari browser in iOS 11, we were thrilled: You could finally make Gruveo calls on iOS without an app! One problem remained, though: You could not use Gruveo in third-party browsers like Chrome for iOS, or in in-app browsers like the one built into the Facebook app.

The reason for this is that third-party browsers on iOS have to use Apple's browser engine, and it didn't expose WebRTC – the real-time video and voice communication technology that Gruveo is built on – to those browsers. But this has recently changed.

iOS 14.3 has finally enabled WebRTC in third-party and in-app browsers, and we have now rolled out support for those browsers in Gruveo. Here is what this means for you:

• A customer clicking your Gruveo link in Firefox on iPad is no longer greeted with a screen asking them to switch to Safari. The call simply starts as usual.
• An iPhone user clicking your Instagram ad proceeds straight to the Gruveo call, without ever leaving the Instagram app.
• A client chatting with your support team in Facebook Messenger on iOS can have a Gruveo call with the agent right in the app.

With Gruveo now supporting third-party and in-app browsers on iOS, we continue to deliver on our promise of hassle-free, one-click video calling for everyone. More to come!

For detailed information on the devices and platforms supported by Gruveo, please see this article in our Help Center.

Call Room Branding and Other New Features

We are excited to announce that in addition to branding the calls on your permanent links, you can now brand your room calls, too! Thanks to a new option on the Branding screen in your dashboard, you can have your default branding apply to any room calls that your account users join.

Note: The branding is applied to the room after the call is established. While the participants are waiting to connect, generic call background is shown.

Here is how to enable this feature:

1. Navigate to the Branding screen in your account dashboard.
2. Check the checkbox that says "Apply the default branding to all account users' room calls".
3. Click "Save changes".
4. From now on, any room calls that your account users join will get branded with your account's default branding (upon call establishment).

In addition to call room branding and miscellaneous bug fixes, we have also added the following features:

• Voice-only call links: Append the ?startcall=voice parameter to your links to make the call start with the camera off. For example: https://www.gruveo.com/@acme?startcall=voice. This works for both room and permanent link calls.
• Purging of the call log: The new "Purge call log" link on the Call Log screen lets you permanently delete the call log for your account.

We hope that you find these new features useful. As usual, don't hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any questions or need support.

New in Gruveo: Call Log, Dashboard by Default and Other Major Improvements

The past couple of months have been very busy for us at Gruveo. Our usage has increased significantly, and the feedback we have been receiving from new and existing users alike has been truly invaluable.

We have been working hard to address the biggest Gruveo pain points, and we are happy to announce the release of a new milestone that adds major improvements to the Gruveo web application. Here are some of the highlights.

Dashboard by Default

Before the today's update, logging in to Gruveo brought you back to our homepage, from where you had to click your name and then "Settings" to get to the dashboard. Not anymore! You now get to your dashboard immediately after logging in.

The New "Set up a Call" Page

You spoke, and we listened. With the two options for setting up a call on Gruveo (permanent links vs. call rooms), it can be hard to decide which one you should be using for your next conversation.

That's why we have added the new Set up a Call page to the dashboard. This page lays out your options in a clear and understandable manner, as well as lists all your permanent links and lets you generate a call room link with one click. No more confusion!

Create Room Links Right in Your Dashboard

We used to recommend our browser extension as the easiest way to generate room links. Now you can create room links right in your dashboard from the "Set up a Call" page.

The new room link generator lets you create a random link, copy it to your clipboard as well as go to the call room. You can type in a custom link, too!

Goodbye, the Dialer on the Homepage

With the new "Set up a Call" page in place, we have removed the option to start a Gruveo call on our homepage by typing in the room name or the permanent link.

Call Log and Incoming Calls Report

Accessing the call log and getting reports on the incoming Gruveo calls has been one of the past few months' most requested features.

The new Call Log page in the admin user's dashboard displays a log of all incoming calls across the Gruveo account. You can see the call date/time, link called, caller location, call status (missed/declined/answered), who answered the call, as well as call duration.

On top of that, the Call Log page lets you export the data for the selected date range to a CSV or Excel file.

The Incoming Calls Report page breaks down incoming call statistics per permanent link, with data such as total incoming calls, missed calls, declined calls, answered calls and total call duration.

Call Reporting via Webhooks and Custom Call Tracking (Experimental)

For the customers interested in receiving their call statistics in real time, we have added the ability to post call information to a custom webhook at the end of each call. You can use this feature with e.g. Zapier webhooks to trigger actions for each incoming Gruveo call in your account.

The data posted to the webhook includes call date/time, link called, caller location, call status, who answered the call, call duration and more. On top of that, any custom GET parameters you add to a permanent Gruveo link (for example, https://www.gruveo.com/@mybusiness?param1=123&param2=456), will be reported in the webhook as well.

Please get in touch with us if you'd like to try the new webhook reporting feature.

Profile and Billing Moved to Drop-Down Menu

As we're adding more features to the user dashboard, we decided to move a few critical items to the user drop-down menu. This is where you will now find the Profile and Billing links:

More to Come

We hope you will find these new features useful. Our team remains committed to further improving Gruveo, so expect more new features soon!

Gruveo's COVID-19 Response

Update January 25, 2021: We are switching back to our original trial duration of 14 days. The 14-day duration will apply to any trials started on or after January 25, 2021. The duration of the trials that were started earlier remains unaffected. We continue offering the 20% non-profit discount.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold throughout the world, we feel it's our responsibility to get Gruveo's one-click video conferencing into the hands of the people who need it most.

To that end, we are introducing the following measures, effective immediately:

1. The Gruveo free trial has been temporarily extended to 45 days for all new subscribers. This means that you can now use Gruveo in your organization completely free for 45 days.
2. We are now offering a 20% recurring discount to all non-profits on a permanent basis. If you are a non-profit organization, please reach out and we will activate the discount for your account.

Remember to say safe and follow WHO's guidance on protecting yourself and others.