- Tap Call (voice) or Video in the chat or your friend's profile.
- A free call with no time limit, over Wi-Fi or mobile data — voice or HD video.
- With your friends the call connects directly between the two phones for the best quality, and 🔒 Encrypted shows at the top of the screen. With strangers and Bridge guests it goes through Tellu's server.
- Who can you call for free? Same rule as messaging: a friend, a mutual contact, or someone who messaged you before.
- If they are busy or on "Do not disturb" Tellu warns you before calling; on "Do not disturb" your call reaches them without ringing.
- If they are not online: Tellu offers to call their regular phone line as an international call from your balance — you don't need to know their number, and nothing is charged unless you agree.
Call screen: under the other person's sky right now (night, morning, day or sunset, by their local time), with their photo, local time and country. Their photo glows with their voice while they talk. Buttons: Mute, Speaker, Translate, Video (switch the call to video with your friends), and end.
Incoming call:
- Answer or Decline — or a quick reply without picking up: Call you soon (declines and sends them a ready message) or Message (opens the chat).
- With your phone locked: the same ringing screen appears over the lock screen, under the caller's sky. The volume buttons silence the ringing.
- Missed a call? You get a "Missed call" or "Missed video call" notification with a Call back button.
After the call: a small card with its length, and Message and Call again buttons. Sometimes (after a call that had drop-outs, or about once every 10 calls) we ask How was the call quality? 😕 🙂 😍 — one tap helps us improve it, and you can ignore it.
If the network changes (Wi-Fi to mobile data or back) during a call, it doesn't drop: "Reconnecting…" shows for a few seconds, then the audio and video come back.
Not available yet: group calls.