Meta is quietly rolling out a new “Communities” feature to Messenger, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The feature is designed to help organizations, schools, and other private groups communicate in a more organized and structured way. The launch comes as Meta introduced Communities on WhatsApp in 2022.
The feature allows people to connect with others without needing an associated facebook group to do so. Meta launched community chats in Messenger in 2022 as a way for people in facebook groups to connect in real time, but with this new feature, the company allows people to create dedicated spaces for real-time communication in Messenger without be connected. to a facebook group.
The launch indicates that Meta is looking to expand the functionality of Messenger and differentiate it from other messaging services, such as iMessage. It also suggests that it wants to add a broader social networking aspect to the messaging app outside of facebook, helping people find and connect with their community directly within Messenger.
Communities consolidate multiple group chats into one place, and each community features a dedicated “Home” space where administrators can share updates and announcements. Up to 5,000 people can join a community through shareable invitations, Meta says.
The feature can be used to create a dedicated space for things like organizations, schools, PTAs, and neighborhoods. It could also be used to create a dedicated space to connect with friends with similar interests.
For example, a neighborhood could create a community to keep everyone connected and up to date on different topics. They could create group chats dedicated to topics like upcoming events, safety alerts, trash pickup schedules, and more. Or, a school could create a community and have dedicated group chats for all grades, allowing parents to join conversations that concern their children.
Although the feature works similarly to Communities on WhatsApp, Meta says there is one key differentiator, which is the fact that Messenger Communities are connected to facebook's social graph. While WhatsApp requires you to have someone's phone number to invite them to a community, community creators on WhatsApp can grow their communities by inviting facebook friends and friends of friends.
In a facebook.com/help/messenger-app/685507703461811?ref=ipl&_rdr” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>help pageMeta says communities on Messenger are designed for more public conversations compared to facebook groups. For example, the company notes that all current and future members of a community can view chat content.
The new feature is rolling out to all users globally.