Facebook has announced Messenger Rooms, a group video calling service that allows you to create a virtual Room directly from Messenger or Facebook and invite anyone to join, even those who don’t have a Facebook account. The rooms have no time limits and will soon be able to accommodate up to 50 people.
To celebrate an event, organize a reading group or simply to chat with friends, it will no longer be necessary to call first or make an appointment on the calendar, simply open a Room on Facebook and share it through your wall, Groups or Events, to allow people to drop by. It will soon be possible to open a room from Instagram Direct, WhatsApp and Portal.
When you are invited to a room, you can access both from your smartphone and from your computer, without having to download anything. In addition to the augmented reality effects available from the Messenger app, new AI effects will also arrive to update Messenger video chats from mobile, such as 360-degree and immersive wallpapers. There are also 14 new filters that offer ambient or face lighting. New augmented reality effects are also on the way.
Facebook announces Messenger Rooms and news for Instagram, Whatsapp and PortalFacebook has announced Messenger Rooms, a group video calling service that allows you to create a virtual Room directly from Messenger or Facebook and invite anyone to join, even those who don’t have a Facebook account. The rooms have no time limits and will soon be able to accommodate up to 50 people.
To celebrate an event, organize a reading group or simply to chat with friends, it will no longer be necessary to call first or make an appointment on the calendar, simply open a Room on Facebook and share it through your wall, Groups or Events, to allow people to drop by. It will soon be possible to open a room from Instagram Direct, WhatsApp and Portal.
When you are invited to a room, you can access both from your smartphone and from your computer, without having to download anything. In addition to the augmented reality effects available from the Messenger app, new AI effects will also arrive to update Messenger video chats from mobile, such as 360-degree and immersive wallpapers. There are also 14 new filters that offer ambient or face lighting. New augmented reality effects are also on the way.
Messenger Rooms, according to a note, is designed with privacy and security at the top of the priorities:
Facebook does not see or listen to your calls. The person who creates the room can choose who can see it and who can participate, must be present to start the conversation and can remove guests at any time. You can report a room or send feedback if you believe it has violated Facebook community standards. Since Facebook does not view or listen to calls, reports will not include Room audio or video. More information in the privacy attachment.
Messenger Rooms is available for testing in Italy as early as this week and will be extended to the rest of the world in the coming weeks. We will also be adding new features in the coming months.
Facebook has also officially announced the expansion of video calls on WhatsApp for up to 8 people in addition to group videos. Again, Facebook points out, security is guaranteed by end-to-end encryption.
- Live With returns to add another person to their live video, regardless of where they are. Useful for guests, interviews with experts or performances with friends.
- You can mark Facebook Events as “online-only” and, in the coming weeks, integrate Live into the Events. To support creators and small businesses, we plan to add the ability for Pages to request paid access to attend live events on Facebook. It can be valid for anything: online performances, lessons or professional meetings.
- To facilitate fundraising, it is possible to add the “donate” button directly to Live, available in all countries where it is possible to make fundraisers in support of non-profit organizations.
- Access to live videos has been simplified. Limits of data or unstable connections will not be a problem because it will be possible to listen to even audio.
- It is possible to start the Livestream of a game directly on Facebook from your smartphone, thanks to the new Facebook Gaming app available on Google Play. The app allows you to start playing immediately, watch your favourite streamers and discover new gaming Groups. Tournaments are another new feature for game streaming on Facebook that allows you to start, play and watch challenges from one place.
- To support its favourite creators, Facebook has decided to expand Stars to more Pages and Countries. Once purchased, the Stars can be sent to the creators while they are playing live; they will thus be able to earn 1 cent for each star.
On Instagram:
- Now you can watch and comment live videos directly from the desktop. Follow your yoga class on a larger screen or listen to a live performance as you work.
- After starting the live broadcast, you can immediately save your videos on IGTV so that they remain available beyond the 24-hour limit of the Stories and are easier to find.
Finally, on Portal:
- Soon it will be possible to start live on Groups and Facebook Pages also from Portal. The Facebook Live app on Portal already allows you to broadcast live on your profile, but within this month you will be able to do it also with your communities, taking full advantage of the Portal smart camera and its Artificial Intelligence tools.
