Last month we reported that Facebook will soon release the new Messenger Rooms feature to take on Zoom.
Now the feature is rolling out to all.
Below, I’ve highlighted the key features of Messenger Rooms.
- You can create a room right from Messenger or Facebook, and invite anyone to join your video call, even if they don’t have a Facebook account.
- Facebook will also add ways to create rooms from Instagram Direct, WhatsApp and Portal, too.
- You can start and share rooms on Facebook through News Feed, Groups and Events, so it’s easy for people to drop by.
- When you’re invited to a room, you can join from your phone or computer — no need to download anything to get started.
- If you have the Messenger app, you can play with AR effects like bunny ears, and new AI-powered features like immersive 360 backgrounds and mood lighting.
- Rooms will soon hold up to 50 people with no time limit.
- Messenger Rooms is rolling out in some countries this week and will expand to the rest of the world in coming weeks.
Facebook has also built several features that will provide better control to Messenger Rooms hosts. If you are hosting a Messenger Rooms, you can remove any unwanted participants, lock the room any point to block others from joining and several others. Some of the controls are listed below.
- Locking: Rooms can be locked or unlocked once a call begins. If a room is locked, no one else can join, except a Group admin for rooms created through a Group.
- Removing a participant: The room creator can remove any unwanted participants. If the room creator removes someone from the call or leaves, the room will lock automatically and the room creator must unlock the call for others to join.
- Leaving: If at any point you feel unsafe in a room, you can leave. Just because a room is locked doesn’t mean you have to stay.
- Reporting: You can report a room name or submit feedback about a room if you believe it violated our Community Standards. But since we don’t watch or listen to your audio or video calls, it’s important to know that reports and feedback will not include audio or video from the room.
- Blocking: You can block someone on Facebook or Messenger who may be bothering you and we won’t inform them. When someone you’ve blocked is logged into Facebook or Messenger, they won’t be able to join a room you’re in and you won’t be able to join theirs.
Read more at Facebook here.
Via Engadget
