Facebook lets Messenger and WhatsApp users call each other with 50 people
Facebook is adding a new feature to Messenger that allows users to video chat in groups. Messenger Rooms will eventually allow users to start video calls with 50 people at once, including WhatsApp and Instagram users.
The feature allows users to start a video call with multiple users. Initially, only eight people can stay in what Facebook calls a ‘room’, but in the coming weeks that number should increase to 50. The function not only works in Facebook Messenger, but eventually also with Instagram and WhatsApp. How that works exactly is not clear. Facebook wants WhatsApp and Instagram users to chat with Messenger users for longer.
Users can start a ‘room’ from their News Feed and from Messenger. Later, you can also do this from the DM feature in Instagram and from WhatsApp. The conversations aren’t encrypted, but Facebook tells The Verge it’s “not watching or listening in on the conversations.”
There is no need to download a separate app for the Rooms feature. It works directly in Messenger. Users can also use various filters there, such as rabbit ears that can be placed on the image via ar. Rooms also get 360-degree backgrounds, which rotate with the person.
Facebook gives users various options to determine who can visit a ‘room’. This is possible for only people they specifically invite, but also for all their Facebook friends, who can then access a conversation from their News Feed. Users can also create a unique link to a ‘room’ that they can share. Rooms can be locked to outsiders, and if someone is kicked out of a conversation by the host, that person cannot come back without permission.
Facebook announced the new feature Friday. The company says it has seen more and more video calls appear on its services since the corona crisis. In many countries, the number of conversations via Messenger and WhatsApp is said to have doubled. Facebook is also introducing some other new video features on its platforms. The company is increasing the maximum number of participants of a WhatsApp conversation from four to eight, something that happened recently in the beta version. Instagram users can also view live streams from their desktop and Facebook itself will be able to add another person to a live stream.
For now, the feature is only available in America. Facebook says Rooms will also be rolled out to other countries in the coming weeks.