How to Use Fortnite In-Game Video Chat

This article explains how to set up and use Fortnite gameplay chat using Epic's Houseparty app.

How to Use Fortnite In-Game Video Chat

You can use Fortnite in-game video chat on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC, with other platforms on the way. To use this feature, you also need a phone or tablet to run the Houseparty app.

Here’s how to get it all set up:

1. Install and open the Houseparty app on your phone or tablet.

   Download Houseparty for Android
   Download Houseparty for iOS

2. Tap Sign Up.

3. Enter your details, tap Next, and finish creating a Houseparty account.

   Before proceeding any further in the Houseparty app, you need to make sure Houseparty is enabled in Fortnite. If it isn't, the app will give you an error when you try to connect.

4. Launch Fortnite on your PC or PlayStation, and open the menu by clicking the menu icon (PC) or pressing the Options button on your controller (PlayStation).

5. Select Settings.

6. Navigate to the Sound tab (speaker icon).

7. In the Voice Chat section, make sure that Voice Chat is set to On, Voice Channel is set to Party, and Houseparty Video Chat Integration is set to On.

8. If parental controls are enabled, make sure that Houseparty Video Chat in Fortnite is set to On.

9. Back in the Houseparty app on your iOS or Android device, tap Connect Fortnite.

10. Tap Agree.

    If you perform this step before turning on Houseparty video chat in the Fortnite settings, you won't be able to finish the process of connecting Fortnite. You will have to enable that setting and then connect Fortnite to the Houseparty app later.

11. Tap Sign in with Epic games.

12. Enter your Epic Games info and tap Log in now.

13. Tap Allow.

14. Tap Camera and Mic, and tap Next.

    If your phone asks for camera and mic permission after this step, grant it.

15. Tap the TV icon.

16. Position your phone so the camera is pointed at your face.

    If the phone camera can’t capture your face, your friends won’t be able to see you in Fortnite video chat.

17. Tap the F slider in the Fortnite Mode dropdown.

18. Tap the hand icon, and Invite your friends to party up or join their party. If they're also using Houseparty, you'll see their faces on the left side of your screen while partied up in Fortnite.

How Does Fortnite In-Game Video Chat Work?

Fortnite voice chat and in-game video chat both use Epic’s Houseparty app to enable cross-platform chat. That’s why you need to sign up for Houseparty and link it with your Epic account. The benefit is that it allows you to video chat with your Epic Games friends in Fortnite regardless of whether you are playing on PC or PlayStation. Friends on unsupported platforms can’t video chat with you in-game, but they can still join in on their phone with the Houseparty app.

When you set up the Houseparty app and connect it to Fortnite, your phone sends a live video of your face to Houseparty on your friends’ phones, which forwards the video to Fortnite on their PC or PlayStation. It works the same in reverse: Video of their faces transmit to your Houseparty app and then to Fortnite on your PC or PlayStation.

For this whole process to work, you need to either disable Fortnite parental controls or enable Houseparty video chat in the parental controls. Houseparty has some built-in safety features, like only allowing your kids to video chat with their friends and preventing people they chat with from seeing your kid’s surroundings. It accomplishes this by recognizing your face and automatically replacing everything else with a colorful background. If the app doesn’t detect your face for any reason, like standing up or walking away, your entire broadcast is instead a colorful background.

How to Control Fortnite In-Game Chat

While Fortnite in-game video chat allows you to see your friends on the side of the screen while playing the game, you control it through the Houseparty app on your phone. The app displays the same video feeds of your friends that you see in-game, and it provides some useful options.

By default, total strangers aren’t able to enter your video chat or see your video. Your Houseparty friends, who are by default just your Fortnite friends, can join, and so can their friends. Nobody else can get in.

If you want to chat with your friends, or even just one or two specific friends, you can also lock your video chat to prevent others from joining. To accomplish this, tap the Lock icon at the bottom of the Houseparty screen while you’re in a video chat.

You can also block people who have already joined that chat, which turns off their video and prevents them from seeing your video. If a friend of one of your friends joined and is causing trouble, this is a valuable feature. Just tap the person’s face in the Houseparty app, and tap Block. 

If someone is causing trouble with obscene content or harassment in Fortnite video chat, you can also report them in-game. Just open the Fortnite settings menu, then navigate to Settings > Reporting/Feedback > Report A Player. When you finish reporting, you can choose to block the player from joining your chat or party in the future.