14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has just announced that starting today group screen sharing is available free of charge to everyone using the latest version of Skype on Windows and Mac OS X.
The feature, which was previously available with a subscription to Skype Premium, allows users to share screens with two or even more contacts on Skype, thus making a number of activities, such as tech support, a lot easier.
Microsoft used the same “based on customer feedback” motif as usual to explain that, when it decided to make this feature free of charge, it actually listened to what customers wanted from its app.
“Maybe this has happened to you. You’ve got a hilarious picture you’d like to show with your whole gang that’s just sitting there on your desktop. Or maybe you’re on a Skype call with your colleagues trying to explain a concept or show a calendar, and you’ve thought to yourself, I’d love to be able just to show them what I mean. With Skype group screen sharing, you can,” the company said in the beginning of today’s announcement.
“It used to be that you had to have a subscription to Skype Premium to share screens with two or more people. Not any more. If you’ve got the latest versions of Skype for Windows desktop or Skype for Mac group screen sharing is totally free,” it explained.
Unfortunately for those on Windows 8, this feature is only available in the desktop version of the client for now, but expect it to be implemented in the Metro build anytime soon. Microsoft is working to make the Modern version of Skype better, so new features are added on a regular basis.
As far as the other mobile versions of Skype are concerned, there’s no word on whether this feature could be implemented and used on smartphones or not.
“We hear from lots of our users about how useful screen sharing is, whether it’s providing tech support for family or clients, or language tutoring, or gaming. We know you like this feature a lot (I personally use it all the time), so it’s great to be able to offer free screen sharing for groups,” the company added.
This feature is only part of the latest builds of Skype, so go ahead and download these updated versions to make sure you benefit from all freeware goodies offered by Microsoft to users.