How to start and join a Slack huddle
Slack is a messaging tool. It isn’t a video conferencing tool though you can record and send videos to a channel or to an individual. In comparison, lots of enterprise and productivity tools that are aimed at work spaces tend to have both messaging and video conferencing tools built e.g. Microsoft Teams. This means that Slack is lacking in the area and to fill this gap, it has huddles.
Slack Huddle
A Slack huddle is an audio call. This is a premium Slack feature so those with a free Slack workspace/account will not be able to use it. A huddle is an on-going event within a channel. So long as the event is active, you can join it. The feature is available on both desktop and on the Slack mobile apps.
Start a Slack huddle – Desktop
To start a Slack huddle on the desktop, follow these steps.
- Open the Slack app.
- Select the channel or the direct message thread that you want to start the huddle in.
- In the left navigation column, look at the bottom and you will see a switch icon with a headset. Click it to start the huddle. Alternatively, you can use the Control+Shift+H or Command+Shift+H keyboard shortcut to start a huddle.
Join a Slack huddle – Desktop
Once a huddle has started, you can join it by following these steps.
- Open the Slack app.
- Select the channel the huddle is active in.
- Click the mic icon to join in.
Note: You may or may not get an alert when a huddle is active in a channel. This depends on your notification settings however, you can set up alerts for a channel or DM thread where you’re notified when a huddle starts.
Start a Slack huddle – iOS/Android
To start a Slack Huddle on the Slack Android or iOS app, follow these steps.
- Open the Slack app on your phone.
- Tap the icon at the top right to start the huddle.
Join a Slack huddle – iOS/Android
To join a Slack huddle on the Slack Android or iOS app, follow these steps.
- Open the Slack app on your phone.
- Go to the channel that the huddle is active in.
- Tap the icon at the top right to join the huddle.
Conclusion
A single huddle can have up to 50 participants. You can share your screen in a huddle but you cannot enable a video stream for it which means Slack still does not have a video conferencing tool. You can invite people to a huddle once it’s active.
