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Users of the social network will be able to invite up to 50 people, whether or not they have a Facebook account, in the same “room” for as long as they want, said Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of the platform, on Friday.
Unlike work video conferencing tools like Zoom, Messenger Rooms is designed to socialize with friends and family, whether it’s for birthdays, happy hours, book clubs, or parent groups.
“This is designed to be more fortuitous and spontaneous,” Zuckerberg told the AFP agency. “I just keep an open window on my computer or phone, and people who I couldn’t normally avoid calling come in there,” he explained. “I feel like we’re missing that in our lives right now,” he added.
The launch comes amidst the advancement of Zoom, designed as a business video platform, and other online chat services such as connections during lockdown.
Facebook users will be able to create virtual rooms and decide who to invite. Rooms include augmented reality effects like rabbit ears and aliens, as well as simulated backgrounds. “I could hang out on a couch over the weekend and send an invitation to all my friends to come ‘hang out on the couch in the living room,'” exemplified the platform’s creator.
In an unusual step, those without Facebook accounts or apps are enabled to visit Messenger Rooms. “People can just send a link to their grandmother or whoever,” said Zuckerberg. If you don’t have the app, the link will open in a browser, he added.
Facebook envisioned security mechanisms to prevent unwanted guests from entering virtual rooms, which has happened at Zoom: “We have the advantage of establishing a secure perimeter,” said Zuckerberg.
Messenger Rooms is expected to be available to nearly 2.5 billion Facebook users in the coming weeks, but also, the social media giant plans that the “rooms” can be created from the messaging platforms of Instagram and WhatsApp, part of the technology group.
Facebook will also double to eight the number of people who can simultaneously participate in WhatsApp group video calls.
Another feature to be launched is to include in the Facebook dating service an option to invite people to virtual appointments through Messenger video chat.
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