Skype customers in US are able to call 911 from their personal computers at home

San Francisco, Feb 19 : Microsoft-owned web-based calling platform Skype now lets US users dial 911 from their home computers.

The app can share their location with emergency services if needed.

The Skype emergency service calling is already available in Australia, Denmark, Finland, and the UK.To enable 911 emergency location sharing in Skype, select your profile picture, select Settings and then Privacy."Turn 911 emergency location sharing on.You will need to acknowledge the Notices & Disclosures and the Special 911 Warning of Limitations & Unavailability to complete the process," Skype said in an update."You can disable 911 emergency location sharing at any time, but this means your address will not be shared with 911 in case of an emergency".

You may also need to allow Location sharing from your device settings.Skype cautions that the service doesnt operate the same as a traditional phone call.

Users are encouraged to not make an emergency call through Skype when outside of their home region since the call could potentially be rerouted elsewhere.Some other features are rolling out with Skype 8.80 update, like the ability to zoom in on a screen share during a video call.Microsoft has also made it possible to use custom reactions on Skype for mobile devices.

You can now record voice messages that last up to 5 minutes, instead of the earlier 2-minute limit.na/ Skype warns that the service isnt like traditional phone calls.

Users are advised not to use an emergency call using Skype in the absence of their home area as the call may be routed elsewhere.Some additional features are coming out with Skype 8.80 upgrade that include the capability to zoom in on a screen sharing during video call.Microsoft has also made it possible to make custom reactions when using Skype for mobile devices.

You can now record voice messages that run longer than 5 minutes instead of the previous limit of 2 minutes.