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Facebook announced a series of new video call features on Friday, including Messenger Rooms, which allows users to host video calls of up to 50 people.
Messenger Rooms poses an immediate threat to Zoom and Houseparty, two video calling products that have seen their use skyrocket in the past month as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. New video features come as more users turn to Facebook apps to socialize with friends and family while quarantined as a result of the pandemic.
Zoom’s shares, which were up 3% on the day, are now down 5% on the news.
Messenger Rooms is the flagship of Facebook’s new video calling services. The free feature will allow Facebook and Messenger users to create group video calls of up to 50 people. By contrast, Messenger video calls are limited to eight people.
Facebook announced on Friday a series of new video call features including Messenger Rooms, which allows users to host video calls of up to 50 people.
Courtesy of Facebook.
Messenger Rooms 50 person limit will not be available immediately. Facebook users will see a lower limit at launch, but it will soon rise to 50 people, a company spokesperson told CNBC. The limit will vary for users at launch, the spokesperson said.
In comparison, Zoom allows up to 100 people to video chat for free for up to 40 minutes. Houseparty supports up to eight people.
Video calls in Messenger Rooms have no time limit and will include features like augmented reality filters that allow people to add silly masks to their faces. Room hosts will also be able to block calls and delete users. Facebook and Messenger users can create Messenger Rooms, and they can invite anyone to join, including people who don’t have a Facebook account.
Messenger Rooms will begin rolling out to users on Friday, and will expand to more regions in the coming weeks.
Facebook also announced that it is doubling the limit of WhatsApp video calls from four to eight people. In addition, the company is introducing a video calling feature on Facebook Dating so that users of that service can have virtual dating.
“Between WhatsApp and Messenger, more than 700 million accounts participate in calls every day,” Stan Chudnovsky, vice president of Messenger, said in a blog post. “In many countries, video calls on Messenger and WhatsApp more than doubled, and views of Facebook Live and Instagram Live videos increased significantly in March.”
Facebook said it will also expand its Facebook and Instagram live streaming features. Instagram users, for example, will now be able to post their live streams on IGTV, giving fans more time to watch live streams after they’ve been recorded.
