Video conferencing tools like Zoom have had a massive surge in usage during this Pandemic. People have been using apps like Zoom and Microsoft Teams to connect with each other digitally while they work from home. And it seems like Facebook wants in on the party.
Last week, Facebook released a new group video chat feature called Messenger Rooms. This feature allows you to connect with as many as 50 people in a video conference. The timing for this introduction seems perfect for Facebook, as the most popular of the available services, Zoom, seems to getting a lot of criticism for its security vulnerabilities.
What is Messenger Rooms?
Facebook rolled out Messenger Rooms last week. The feature allows you to invite as many as 49 people to join a video call called as “Rooms”. Just like in a regular messenger video call, you can add filters. And Facebook is also introducing the virtual background feature that has become popular with Zoom during this lockdown.
You can think of this service as a group chat with video. The creator of a Room can either lock the Room or keep it open. If they choose to keep a Room locked after a call has begun between a few members, no one else can join while the conversation is ongoing.
Anyone can leave a room at any time. If the creator of the room leaves the room while the call is ongoing, it will remain locked.
You can use Messenger Rooms from either one of Facebook’s many services, viz. Messenger, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram Direct, or Portal. Even people who don’t have Facebook can use the service.
How do you create a room on Messenger?
To create a Room on Messenger, follow these steps:
- In the messenger app, tap on the “People” icon at the bottom right corner.
- Tap on “Create a room”. Add the people you want to join the room.
- You can keep the group locked or unlocked. You may also get a link to the group which you can then share on Facebook or with people who don’t have a Facebook account.
Up to 50 participants & No time limit
The current major competitor to Messenger Rooms, Zoom, allows up to 100 people to participate in a video conference. But calls from a free account have a time limit of 40 minutes. Facebook claims that there will be no such time limits with Messenger Rooms.
A major blow to Zoom?
Zoom stock prices have shot up since the pandemic. There’s a good change you are one of the people who hadn’t even heard of this app before this lockdown. Its rise in popularity was credited to its efficient smooth running service and the large amount of people that could participate in a video conference. But the massive rise in popularity also brought into light the service’s security vulnerabilities. A lot of users have complained about what is now being called “Zoom-bombs”. This is when an uninvited user randomly enters a chat room and posts vulgar images and texts.
Although Messenger Rooms will not be end-to-end encrypted, they claim that only the creator of a Room can add or remove people from a video call, a poke at Zoom. With the announcement of Messenger Room, Zoom stocks dipped more than 5%.
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