# FaceTime

22 Hacker News commenters recommended FaceTime and 15 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Free, built-in video and audio calling that people find smooth and low-latency, especially internationally. Main caveat: it is closed to non-Apple platforms.

## Why people recommend it

- Smooth, low-latency calls, especially internationally (2 comments): "I am always amazed how low latency and high quality Facetime between Europe Australia is." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48502676)) "Facetime does feel much smoother than other videocalling apps for Aus<>Europe." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48503879))
- Keeps family and distant relatives connected (2 comments): "it's been amazing being able to see, talk to, and sing with my kid while I'm gone" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48702112)) "FaceTime for calling distant relatives" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47218805))
- Works over data when cellular fails (2 comments): "facetime voice calls, etc... all seem to work fine even when the cellular calls aren't going through" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49834561)) "Facetime / Signal will work fine over just data." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50249503))
- Used daily, preferred over alternatives (2 comments): "I like them better than alternatives." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46506707)) "I use Facetime almost every day." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47082257))

## What people warn about

- Closed to other platforms, no open standard (4 comments): "no 3rd party story for FaceTime, Zoom, Google... was a real problem for most folks" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50073944)) "antithetical to the premise of being open" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49979810)) "promised to publish interoperable specs for iMessage/FaceTime and never did" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46249358))
- Call handling glitches and freezes (5 comments): "answering a video call freezes the app. It recovers 10s later but video is not transmitted out" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49984937)) "I'm talking about FaceTime actually switching when I click the button." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50112637)) "FaceTime putting me in a call with "testing" when I switch devices" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50112971))
- Confusing UI and unread badges (3 comments): "if somebody leaves me a FaceTime video-message, I get an "unread"-badge that doesn't get away after I watch the video." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47921556)) "the UI being increasingly impossible to use for both technical and non-technical users" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49974588)) "The facetime and messages icons are almost completely indistinguishable." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46664619))

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://support.apple.com/en-us/105088)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "FaceTime", https://hackerapproved.com/p/facetime/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).