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Video calls between members: built-in video chat, third-party providers, and paying by the second

Set up video calls between members: the built-in chat with pay-per-second billing, third-party providers including Twilio, and what your server needs.

Written by Team

Video chats in your admin panel

Modules > Video chats (/admin/chats/index/) section of your dating site serves as a hub for integrated solutions by third-party chat providers or Dating Pro's own video chat.

This is the general idea: you get a chat files, upload them onto the site server, go to Services > Customize your service > System > Video chats to activate/install the chat, and then proceed to the setup.

Video chat requirements

  • WebRTC support

  • VPS recommended

  • Providers: GoDaddy, Hetzner, DigitalOcean

  • Central server location relative to userbase

  • Additional bandwidth capacity

If you plan to have a WebRTC video chat added to your website (RocketChat, PG Video Chat, Janus, etc.), you will need a VPS, a virtual private server. Consider solutions by GoDaddy, Hetzner or DigitalOcean. The most basic configuration will do.

Make sure you pick the server location in the position central to most of your site's members for better and faster connection.

The following additional solutions are available:

Cometchat

PHP chat software and jQuery chat box plugin for websites. See the Cometchat add-on.

Video chat by Cometchat

ArrowChat

Provider website: arrowchat.com.

If you choose Arrow chat or CometChat, you need to register on the providers website and purchase a license and give us access to your account. A request for integration will be sent to the developer.

ooVoo

A solution by ooVoo can be made available upon request.

Please note that extra costs for every chat license will apply. Contact the chat providers directly to find out the pricing details.

Dating Pro one-on-one video chat

We offer a one-on-one video chat solution that can serve as a basis for future modifications and improvements.

It works in two modes: the one that enables users to send chat requests and accept them immediately, and the one that requires appointment of date and time, via a date scheduler.

You have the choice of activating the pay-per-second billing, or making the video chat a free-of-charge service. The person who initiates the chat will be paying, not the one who accepts the invitation.

Twilio video chat: how to set it up

Twilio provides high-quality video and voice communication capabilities as a trusted third-party video conferencing solution for your users. One method of increasing revenue is by providing video chat as a paid option or keeping it free of charge.

Important: Twilio has announced that its Programmable Video product reaches End of Life on December 5, 2026. Read the announcement: Twilio Programmable Video End of Life. If you are choosing a video chat solution now, consider one of the other options described above.

1. Log in the Twilio console https://console.twilio.com/ and copy Account SID and Auth Token:

Specify them in the Twilio chat settings of your admin panel
site.example/admin/twilio_chat/settings

or go admin panel > Services > Customize your service > System > Twilio Chat

2. Open https://www.twilio.com/console/video/configure and insert the STATUS CALLBACK URL https://site.example/twilio_chat/callback_room_status/ to Twilio account settings and choose Room type: Go

3. Go to Twilio Account > API keys & tokens and get the necessary the Api key sid and Api key secret:

Create API key:

Please review the Access permissions settings to grant users access to Twilio Chat in the Chatbox:

FAQ

Q: Can video chat functionality be affected by government internet restrictions in certain countries?

A: Yes, video chat performance can be significantly impacted by regional internet restrictions and network policies.

Common regional issues include:

• Signal server connectivity problems - Some countries may block or limit access to WebRTC signaling servers, preventing video calls from establishing connections

• VoIP and video chat throttling - Certain jurisdictions implement bandwidth limitations or protocol filtering that affects real-time communication services

• Port blocking - Government firewalls may restrict the network ports required for peer-to-peer video connections

Case example: A client in Russia experienced video chat failures where music played but video calls wouldn't connect. Diagnosis revealed that the signaling server wasn't accessible from Russian IP addresses, requiring server relocation to resolve the issue.

Troubleshooting steps:

  1. Test video chat from different geographic locations using VPN

  2. Check if specific WebRTC servers are accessible from your target markets

  3. Consider deploying signaling servers in multiple regions

  4. Monitor connection success rates by country/region

  5. Implement fallback servers in different jurisdictions

Technical note: When targeting users in countries with internet restrictions, consider hosting video chat infrastructure in regions with reliable international connectivity and minimal protocol filtering.

If video chat works from some locations but fails from others, this typically indicates regional network restrictions rather than platform configuration issues.

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