What are Slack Huddles? How to use the messaging app's new audio feature for group or individual meetings

• Slack Huddles is a feature that lets users on paid plans have audio discussions with people in their workspace and other invited users.
• Huddles can be established in any channel or direct message, and it lets you have up to 50 participants per Huddle.
• It's quick and easy to start, join, or leave a Huddle whether you're using the desktop or mobile version of the app.

For remote workers or colleagues spread across different time zones, communication on Slack is essential for many modern business environments.

But to keep up with its workplace messaging competition, like Zoom, Slack introduced a new feature called Huddles to let people communicate beyond text and gifs.

What are Slack Huddles?

Slack Huddles is a feature that lets you have audio conversations with the people in your workspace and other invited users. Rather than having to set up an in-person or video meeting, users can now hop on a quick call to solve problems, brainstorm or catch up in a less formal way.

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You can have up to 50 people in a Huddle, and you can invite people from outside your organization. The main catch is that it's only available for those on paid plans.

For those who can use it, here's how to set up a Huddle, accept an invite, or join an active one.

How to start a Slack Huddle

Huddles can be set up in any channel or direction message.

On a desktop

1. Go to the desired channel or direct message.

2. Click the headphones toggle, located in the bottom-left corner of the sidebar; alternatively you can use the keyboard shortcuts: Command + Option + Shift + H on a Mac, or Control + Shift + H on a Windows PC.

From there, you can mute yourself by tapping the microphone icon or share your screen by clicking the icon that looks like a computer monitor. You can also add people by clicking the add people icon, which looks like a person icon with a plus sign layered over it.

When you're ready to leave a huddle, simply click the headphones toggle again (or type the keyboard shortcut again).

On mobile

1. Go to your desired channel or direct message.

2. Tap the antenna icon, located in the top-right corner of the screen.

To leave a Huddle on mobile, tap the antenna icon again and select Leave.

How to accept a Huddle invitation

You'll hear a notification sound when you get an invite, and the process to accept it is straightforward:

• On desktop: Click the Join button on your Huddle notification, located in the sidebar.
• On mobile: Tap the Huddle banner located at the top of your screen, or tap Join from the invitation.

How to join an active Huddle

If someone else starts a Huddle in a channel you belong to, or in a direct message, you'll see the antenna icon appear next to the channel name, in the left sidebar.

On desktop

1. Navigate to the channel where the Huddle is active.

2. Click the headphones toggle, located in the bottom-left corner of the sidebar (or use the keyboard shortcut, Command + Option + Shift + H on a Mac or Control + Shift + H on a Windows PC).

On mobile

1. From the Home tab, tap the antenna icon next to the channel where the Huddle is active.

2. Tap Join.