You cannot initiate a FaceTime call from Android, but you can join one. An iPhone or iPad user creates a FaceTime link, shares it with you, and you open it in Chrome or Edge on your Android phone. The call runs in your browser with no app download required. Android users can join but cannot start FaceTime calls independently.

Apple added this feature in iOS 15, released September 2021. It gets buried because Apple does not advertise it prominently, and most Android users assume FaceTime is iPhone-only. It is not. Here is exactly how it works and what to do when it does not.

• An Android phone running Android 6.0 or later (virtually every phone sold after 2015)
• Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge installed and updated. Safari is not available on Android. Firefox does not support FaceTime links as of 2026.
• A working internet connection, either Wi-Fi or mobile data
• Someone on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac who will create and send the link to you

You do not need to install any app. FaceTime on Android runs entirely through the browser.

1. Ask the person with the iPhone to open their FaceTime app.
2. They tap Create Link at the top of the FaceTime screen.
3. They share that link with you, through iMessage, WhatsApp, email, or any other method that works for both of you.
4. On your Android phone, tap the link when it arrives.
5. Your phone asks which app to open it with. Choose Chrome (or Edge if that is your browser).
6. The browser opens a FaceTime web page. Tap Continue or Join.
7. Enter your name when prompted. This is what the iPhone user will see on their screen.
8. Tap Join. The iPhone user will see a request and must tap Accept to let you in.
9. The call begins.

The first time you join, Chrome will ask for camera and microphone permissions. Tap Allow on both. If you tap Block by mistake, the call will not have audio or video, and you will need to fix the permissions in Chrome settings before trying again.

The browser-based version supports more than you might expect:

• Video and audio calling
• Group calls (multiple people, including other Android users joining the same link)
• Screen sharing (you can share your Android screen to the call)
• Mute and camera toggle during the call

What does not work on Android:

• Memoji and Animoji
• SharePlay (synced music, TV, or fitness activities)
• FaceTime effects and filters (Portrait mode blur, background replacement)
• Initiating a call; you can only join links created by someone on Apple hardware
• Spatial Audio
• Live Captions (Apple devices only on supported iOS versions)

For a straight video call, the feature gap is small. For the full Apple-to-Apple experience, you are missing the fun extras but not the core function.

If the link opens to an error page or the call will not connect, work through these in order.

Open the Play Store, search Chrome, and tap Update if the button is available. FaceTime’s web client requires WebRTC support that older Chrome versions handle inconsistently. Updating takes under a minute and fixes this in most cases.

1. Open Chrome on your Android phone.
2. Tap the three-dot menu in the top right, then tap Settings.
3. Tap Site settings, then Camera.
4. Find facetime.apple.com in the blocked list and tap it.
5. Switch both Camera and Microphone to Allow.
6. Return to the FaceTime link and try again.

FaceTime links do not expire on their own, but the iPhone user may have ended the session or cancelled the link. Ask them to generate a new one from the FaceTime app.

If you tapped the link and it opened in Firefox, Samsung Internet, or another browser, the call will likely fail. Copy the link, paste it directly into Chrome, and load it there.

FaceTime via link works, but it is not the most convenient option when both people use Android regularly. A few comparisons worth knowing:

Google Meet runs natively on Android and iOS, requires no link generation, and supports calls with up to 100 participants on the free tier. If you and your contacts are mixing Android and iPhone, Meet is the path of least friction.

WhatsApp video calling works on both platforms, end-to-end encrypted, and does not require a Google account. It supports up to 32 people on a video call as of the 2024 update.

Zoom is the most universally installed cross-platform option for work calls. The free tier supports 40-minute group calls.

FaceTime’s browser feature is most useful when you are occasionally joining a call with a group that is all on iPhones. For regular cross-platform use, one of the above removes the link-generation friction entirely.

If you are setting up your Android for the first time or switching from iPhone, the FaceTime question often comes alongside Bluetooth accessory questions. The AirPods pairing guide for Android covers which Apple audio features survive the platform switch and which do not. For phone performance while video calling, stopping background apps on Android frees up RAM that Chrome needs to run FaceTime smoothly. If your phone freezes mid-call, a force restart is the fastest recovery.

No. Only Apple devices can initiate FaceTime calls or create FaceTime links. An Android user cannot open the FaceTime app or website and start a call independently. You must wait for someone on iPhone, iPad, or Mac to generate a link and share it with you.

A one-on-one FaceTime video call uses roughly 180 MB to 360 MB per hour, similar to other video call services at standard quality. On a slow mobile data connection, audio-only calls use far less. If you are near your data cap, join the call over Wi-Fi.

FaceTime uses end-to-end encryption on calls between Apple devices. The browser-based version for Android uses the same encryption standard, according to Apple’s platform security documentation. Your call content is not accessible to Apple or anyone on the network between you and the other caller.

Audio works but video does not usually means Chrome has microphone permission but camera permission is blocked. Go to Chrome Settings > Site settings > Camera, find facetime.apple.com, and set it to Allow. If the site is not listed there, return to the FaceTime link, wait for the permission prompt to appear again, and tap Allow this time.