Meta Introduces Communities Feature on Messenger
Meta has quietly begun rolling out the Communities feature on Messenger, as reported by TechCrunch. This new feature allows up to 5,000 people to join through shareable invites, enabling group chats and a Home feed where admins can share updates and announcements.
TechCrunch notes that Meta previously introduced Community Chats on Messenger two years ago for Facebook Group members to connect. However, with Communities, users no longer need to be part of a Facebook Group to join.
Communities offer a platform for organisations, schools, neighbourhoods, and individuals with shared interests to stay connected and informed. The feature opens up endless possibilities for connecting people with similar hobbies and passions.
The Help page highlights that chats within Communities follow different privacy guidelines compared to private messages on Messenger. Meta states, “Since communities on Messenger are designed for more public conversations, they do not follow the same privacy guidelines as your personal messages on Messenger.”
For example, keep in mind that all current and future members of your community can see chat content and that Meta reviews content against our Community Standards.
Although the feature is still being rolled out to users, those who have access will see an option to create a new community in the left menu of their Messenger mobile app. This move by Meta indicates a shift towards making Messenger a stand-alone app, separate from Facebook. Additionally, Meta recently added the Highlights tab, allowing users to view and interact with their friend’s Facebook posts directly from Messenger.
Source: Meta via TechCrunch
