Skype announced that users in the United States can now call the 911 emergency number via their home PC.
The app can also share the user’s location with emergency services if needed.
Apart from the United States, emergency calling via Skype is currently only available in Australia, Denmark, Finland and the UK, as quoted from The Verge on Monday.
However, Skype’s move to enable 911 calling still has some limitations. Skype warns that the operation of the service will not be the same as a normal phone call.
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Users are advised not to make emergency calls via Skype when outside their home area because the calls have the potential to be diverted to other places. Internet problems, power outages, or interruptions to Skype itself can also potentially end calls.
In addition to making 911 calls with Skype 8.80, users can also leave voice messages for five minutes. Previously, voice calls could only be made with a duration of two minutes.
Users can also choose a light or dark mode while on a call, send reactions, and have the ability to zoom in or out on the screen they share while on a call.
