How to Prevent FaceTime Group Windows From Resizing When People Are Talking
If you’ve recently used Group FaceTime, you’ve probably already come across a feature that makes attendee windows see changes based on who’s speaking. The idea is similar to what Zoom does by default in that it puts the speaker in the spotlight, but if you’re having a lively conversation with multiple people, this can get annoying pretty quickly as well.
With the release of iOS 13.5 yesterday, Apple also added the ability to turn off a feature in group FaceTime calls that automatically resizes these windows.
Fix it:
- Go to settings.
- Select FaceTime.
- Scroll down to the Automatic Awareness section.
- Disable Conversation.
Once you do this, all of the windows in the group FaceTime call remain in place and resize as you talk. They will still be on top of each other, not tiled.
If someone is talking and you want to focus on them, you can double-tap their window during a conversation to enlarge only that window. You can also drag and drop windows to make individual speakers more visible on your personal screen.
You must have iOS 13.5 installed on your device to see this option in your settings.
Along with the FaceTime update, iOS 13.5 also made it easier to unlock your iPhone while wearing a face mask and added support for the Apple and Google Notification APIs that could be used in the future to track COVID-19 infection.