How browser-based international calling works
What happens when you press Call in your browser, what you need, and how it differs from calling apps.
Updated 1 October 2026
Browser calling lets you phone an ordinary mobile or landline abroad from a web page, with no app on either side. Here's what happens behind the Call button.
From your browser to their phone
- Your browser records your voice. Modern browsers have calling built in (a standard called WebRTC). That's why your browser asks for permission to use the microphone the first time you call.
- The sound travels over the internet, encrypted, from your browser to DanaTel's call servers.
- We connect it to the phone network in the country you're calling, through telecoms carriers.
- Their phone rings like any other call. They don't need an app, a smartphone or internet access to answer.
What you need
- A recent version of Chrome, Safari, Edge or Firefox, on a phone or a computer.
- A microphone and speaker. Phones have both; on a computer, a headset or earbuds avoids echo.
- A steady internet connection: Wi-Fi, or 4G/5G on a phone.
- Credit on your DanaTel account. You can top up from £5.
How it compares
Calling apps are free between two people who both have the app and a data connection. Browser calling to a phone number works when the person you're calling isn't online or doesn't use the same app, which is often the case with older relatives.
Your mobile plan can call abroad too, but international calls are usually charged on top of your monthly allowance at your provider's rate. With DanaTel you see the rate before you dial and pay in 6-second steps.
Good to know
- Keep the DanaTel page open during the call. Closing the tab ends the call.
- DanaTel makes outgoing calls; it doesn't give you a number people can ring back.
- It can't be used for emergency calls. Use your phone to dial 999 or 112.