imo video calls and chat HD

Communication

7.0~~/10~~

Our score

★ 4.5 Google Play·1B+ installs

Reviewed by Editorial Team, ScoredApps editorial · updated 2026-09-05

Screenshots

One-to-one video call with a preview of the caller inset

Group video call showing four participants in a grid

Chat exchanging animated stickers between two people

About imo video calls and chat HD

imo is a video calling and messaging app aimed at places where the network is slow and the phone is old: the developer states it works over 2G as well as 4G and Wi-Fi, and the iPhone build supports devices going back to iOS 9. The listing claims more than 200 million users across 170 countries. It is free, carries advertising, and the install is the smallest messenger reviewed here.

App information

DeveloperBaby Penguin, LLC

Version2026.07.1041 (Android) · 7.3.2 (iOS)

Size12.3 MB (Android) · 19 MB (iOS)

Price / In-app$6.99

Contains adsYes

In-app purchasesYes

Content rating13+

Requires (Android)Android 5.0+

Requires (iOS)iOS 9.0+

Offline modeNone — calls and messages need a connection, however slow

Interface languagesAR, BG, CS, DA, NL, EN + 23 more

Store rating (Google Play)4.5 from 9,085,944 ratings

Installs1B+

Updated by developer2026-01-28

Data checked2026-09-07

Specs come from the official store listings and were last checked on 2026-09-07. Developers change pricing and requirements — check the store page before installing.

imo Review: Built for 2G Networks and Old Phones

The Smallest Install in This Catalogue

At a fraction of the size of WhatsApp or Telegram, this app is designed for phones with almost no free storage, and its iPhone version still supports releases most developers abandoned years ago. The developer's claim is bandwidth as much as space: calls that hold together on 2G and 3G, which is a real constraint across much of South Asia and Africa where the app is popular. That focus explains the interface too — plain lists, large buttons, nothing animated, and screenshots that look a decade old because the design has not needed to change.

Video Calls, Groups and Stickers

The feature list is deliberately ordinary: one-to-one video and voice calls, group video calls with four or more people on screen at once, group chats with photo sharing, and sticker packs. There is no channel system, no bot platform and no cloud archive to speak of. What the store listing emphasises instead is reach — more than 30 languages and 170 countries — which is the point for people calling relatives abroad rather than organising communities. None of it needs an account beyond a phone number, which keeps setup short on a device someone else configured.

A 3.4 Rating on the App Store, 4.4 on Google Play

The gap runs the opposite way to most apps here: Android users rate it 4.4 across 9.07 million reviews while iPhone users give 3.4 from 75,000, which fits an app built for the markets where Android dominates. Google Play lists four collected data categories — personal information, contacts and two others — and the listing carries a Contains ads badge alongside in-app purchases. Advertising is the visible cost of free international calling, and it appears between screens rather than inside calls. Both figures come from far larger samples than most apps in this catalogue, so the split reflects real differences in experience.

Pros

Calls hold up on 2G and 3G networks
The smallest messenger install in this catalogue
Supports iPhones going back several generations
Group video calls with several people on screen
Free international calling over any connection

Cons

Advertising appears throughout the free app
Contacts are among the four collected data categories
App Store rating of 3.4 across 75,000 ratings
Interface has not been modernised in years

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Verdict

A specialist rather than a general messenger: install it when the network is weak, the phone is old or storage has run out, and it will connect a video call where the mainstream apps stall. Everything else about it is dated, advertising-supported and thinner than its rivals. If both people have decent phones and a stable connection, WhatsApp is the better answer.

Core function7.5Video and voice calls connect where heavier apps fail, with basic chat around them.

Ease of use7.5Plain lists and large buttons; dated, but readable for people new to smartphones.

Monetisation6.0Free calling paid for with advertising throughout, plus optional in-app purchases.

Performance8.5Tiny install, low bandwidth demands, and support for phones other apps have dropped.

Privacy & permissions5.0Four collected categories including contacts, on an ad-supported calling app.

7.0out of 10 · weighted average of the five scores above

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Frequently asked questions

Is imo free?

Yes — video calls, voice calls and messages cost nothing beyond mobile data, including internationally. Advertising pays for it, which the Play listing confirms with a Contains ads badge, and the listing also shows optional in-app purchases for extras such as sticker packs.

Does it work on a slow connection?

That is its main claim. The developer states calls work over 2G and 3G as well as 4G and Wi-Fi, and the app is built small enough to install on phones with very little free storage. In practice it connects in conditions where heavier messengers time out.

Are international calls really free?

Calls between two people using the app are free anywhere, since they travel over the internet rather than a phone network. What costs money is mobile data if you are not on Wi-Fi. The app does not sell calling credit for dialling ordinary phone numbers.

Who is it actually for?

People calling relatives abroad on unreliable networks, and anyone whose phone is too old or too full for WhatsApp. That is also why the ratings diverge: it scores 4.4 on Android, where those users are, and 3.4 on iPhone, where they mostly are not.

What are the alternatives?

WhatsApp reaches far more people and encrypts every chat, at several times the install size. Google Meet and Zoom handle group calls better on good connections. This one is chosen when the network is the problem rather than the features.