[ad_1]
Facebook expands its functions with “Messenger Rooms”: video conferences for up to 50 participants.
New feature: Facebook “Messenger Rooms”, most important at first:
Facebook now offers its users a way to video conference. “Messenger Rooms” is already offered in some countries and will be rolled out worldwide in the coming weeks.
Facebook starts video conference
Facebook announced that users should be able to video conference.
The new feature is called “Messenger Rooms”, in which around 20 participants, later up to 50, can participate in a video chat. WhatsApp should make video chats possible for up to eight people.
The connection through the Facebook server is encrypted. The organizer sends a web link to invite the participants.
In addition, users are shown chat rooms of their Facebook friends that may be of interest to them.
According to Facebook, the data from video chats is not used for personalized advertising.
Differences to zoom
Zoom, the video conferencing tool, has seen tremendous growth since the start of the crown crisis. Usage increased from ten to around 300 million users every day.
However, Zoom was also in the news with several problems. “Zoom bombardment,” which allowed strangers to access video conferences, was one of the themes.
Facebook will implement security measures for its users from the beginning. This way, organizers can remove participants from a video conference or avoid sharing invitation links.
The video conference is limited to 40 minutes in the free version of Zoom. Facebook “messaging rooms” will have no time limit.
Facebook presents “Messaging rooms”
Facebook itself released information about the new feature on April 24:
Find, discuss and play virtually together, with up to 50 people at the same time
Today we present the messaging rooms. These are group video calls that allow you to spend a lot of time with friends and family, despite physical separation. Simply create a room directly through Messenger or Facebook and invite any desired participant to join, even if the person does not have a Facebook account.
Messenger Rooms makes it easy to be together and allows you to celebrate together, organize joint meetings or simply relax virtually on the sofa with friends. The rooms will soon be able to accommodate up to 50 people at the same time, with no time limit and no matter how long the virtual happy hour, group training or birthday party lasts. In the coming weeks, the possibility of creating rooms from Instagram Direct, WhatsApp and Portal will also be expanded.
The rooms can be started directly on Facebook through the news, groups and events service and can be shared and publicized so that other people can spontaneously join the room. However, the rooms can also be closed and made private. The person inviting you into the room can determine if others can join the conversation or not. After receiving an invitation, the participant can join directly using their own phone or computer. No download is required to be there.
New AI-backed backgrounds and ambient lighting filters
In addition to existing Messenger AR effects such as rabbit ears and alien skins, we are starting to introduce new AI-based effects and expand Messenger video chats on mobile phones. Introducing 360-degree interactive backgrounds that take participants into beautiful and iconic rooms – from a luxurious waterfront apartment to a royal palace and the beach. There are also 14 new camera filters that provide room lighting that brightens the entire room and face. New AR effects also ensure birthdays can be celebrated or camping with friends at home.
Data protection and security
At Messenger Rooms, privacy and security come first, so everyone can feel comfortable when everyone connects with their friends, family or colleagues. The person who creates the room on Messenger or Facebook controls the privacy settings, including who can join, who sees the room, and whether the room is open or closed. The person creating the room must also be present for the call to start, and you can delete guests at any time. A person’s room name or profile can be reported if there is a suspicion that the person has violated our community standards. The reports do not contain audio or video data from the room, as we do not see or hear the calls.
Starting today, we are testing Messenger Rooms in selected countries and will extend this test to the rest of the world in the coming weeks.
