> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.burakov.net/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Calls

> Encrypted audio and video calls in Bastion — one-to-one and group, with screen sharing and native incoming-call screens.

Bastion has **encrypted audio and video calls** built in — one-to-one or as a group, with screen sharing. The media runs through a server that lives inside your own node, so the call itself never travels through anyone else's cloud.

## Starting a call

Open a chat and tap the **call** button, or start one from the Calls tab. Choose audio or video; you can turn the camera on and off during the call, and share your screen.

<Note>
  If your microphone or camera isn't available, the call still connects — you join muted or with the camera off, rather than failing to connect at all.
</Note>

## Incoming calls that actually ring

A call is only useful if you notice it. Bastion rings you like a real phone:

<Steps>
  <Step title="On your phone">
    Incoming Bastion calls use the native system call screen on iOS and Android — they ring on the lock screen, before you've opened the app.
  </Step>

  <Step title="On web and desktop">
    A full-screen ringer with accept and decline does the same job in the browser and the desktop app.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Answer or decline">
    Accept to join the call; decline to send it away. If the caller cancels first, the ring dismisses itself.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What's encrypted

Audio, video and screen sharing are encrypted end to end between participants, with a call key derived from the chat's own encryption. The media server that carries the streams runs on your node, so calls stay on infrastructure you control — and if a device can't establish end-to-end encryption for the call, Bastion **won't connect it** rather than fall back to unencrypted media.

<Note>
  On a self-hosted node, calls need the bundled media server to be running and reachable — see [Self-hosting](/bastion/self-hosting).
</Note>