The HouseParty app is a video conferencing SOCIAL NETWORKING app that lets you play virtual games with your friends and family face to face. It is available and compatible with all devices (Android phones, iPhones, and PCs). Just like other video calling applications like Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime, WhatsApp-the HouseParty App gives you an edge with a mix of quizzes and games. It’s beyond fun to camera and talks.
The house party app is both a mobile and web application that has gained significant interest during this lockdown. With this Party App, every day is party day and you can attend over 5 parties yet in one place. It is an experience that only the virtual party animals can tell.
“I’ve been to three or four different parties in one night,” said Andrew, a 30-year-old advertising executive, of the app, which allows users to congregate spontaneously with their friends via video hangout to carry out their usual social activities — just virtually.
User Challenges
The app was launched in September 2016, struggled to make ends meet but now the need has eventually hit like a storm. With the lockdown becoming real, many people worldwide are seeking ways to kill off the boredom.
The fun here is, anyone can enter your room if your house is not closed. Users can enter their friends’ conversations without permission unless they have specifically chosen to “lock” their room.
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Houseparty download options
- Go to your Google Play store/Apple store, MacOs, and type Houseparty to download this very interesting to use application
- Follow this link here on the official HouseParty website to easily find the different download options.
How to use the Houseparty App
Mobile Version
- After download, fill in the required details (enter your name, email address, mobile number and choose a unique username).
- The App automatically recognizes your contacts and friends who have already signed up, allowing you to dive into chats almost instantly.
- In case it doesn’t recognize your contacts, feel free to add your buddies via other platform integrations like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc
- The plus icon in the top right corner allows you to find your contacts, and group multiple people together into a ‘House-party’ for group calls.
- Below that there’s a dice icon, which is a quick link to some of the games available on House-party, including Pictionary game, Quick Draw and the Ellen DeGeneres-inspired Heads Up.
- Tap a game and you’ll then be asked to add friends to play with you. Wait for them to connect, and you’re away!
- Swipe up on-screen to quickly start or join a chat/House party. Here you’re able to see friends you’ve recently spoken to and any group chats currently in progress which you can join by tapping.
- To grab a buddy’s attention, hit the hand wave icon next to their name to send them a notification on their device.
How to turn off Houseparty app notifications?
- Tap the face icon in the top left corner,
- Then tap “manage notifications” and toggle the two sliders at the top of the screen to the off position.
- This will turn all notifications off.
Is the Houseparty app safe to use?
A lot of debates have recently come up regarding the safety of the App. These security concerns say that the Epic Games’ App is hacking into user accounts, and stealing their information. Since the app requires other platform integrations, some users in recent weeks have come up to voice their insecurity.
Security concerns
“I got an email from Spotify about suspicious activity saying someone was trying to log in to my account so I changed my password. This has only happened since I downloaded the app, and when I told my group chat about it, a couple of people also said weird stuff had happened to them so we deleted it and I warned others.”-A user warns
However, The House party has been vocal too. It well stated that this is an organized group that wants to put them down.
“Our investigation found that many of the original tweets spreading this claim have been deleted and we’ve noticed Twitter accounts suspended,” it says.
“Passwords are kept in a secure database, salted and hashed, in line with best industry practices,” says a spokesman.
They then went on to offer a one-million-dollar bounty (£811,000) to anyone who can provide the service with proof that it was a ‘paid commercial smear campaign.
Houseparty bounty offer
Expert reviews about the HouseParty App
“The permissions don’t ring any privacy alarm bells for me,” says Lukas Stefanko from Eset.
“Although the app is relatively secure as users can create ‘rooms’ and pick only specific names of the people to talk with, if a child doesn’t ‘lock’ their chat room and choose private settings, others can pop into the video chat,” warns the charity Internet Matters.
‘There are two separate issues being discussed around House party: First, it appears that many users are not aware of the privacy implications of how the app works and how people can “drop-in” when they don’t want or expect them to. This can obviously lead to awkward situations’ explained Christoph Hebeisen, director of security intelligence research at cybersecurity specialist company Lookout.
The app encouraged users to use a unique password for each account and to use a password manager to keep track of login details, ‘rather than using passwords that are short and simple’. This message was echoed by Javvad Malik, a security awareness advocate at KnowBe4.
Conclusion
We cannot entirely say it’s a safe app but we are pretty sure it’s one for the engagement. If you got nothing to lose and can keep your data safe, then go for this social network. It is the light relief it brings that we need the most. We are just yet to tell if it isn’t a pandemic-induced fad. You can even make some dollars off the bounty, don’t forget to send us some when you win. For any questions about the app, our comment section is open.