Facebook rolled out a plentitude of updates to all of its social media properties last week, including an update to Facebook Messenger that adds a new video conferencing platform called Messenger Rooms.
Messenger Rooms will allow up to 50 people at a time to chat over video with no time limit, A competitor in video conferencing apps, Zoom, has a 40-minute time limit for calls of three people or more — unless you subscribe to the service, Yahoo! News reports.
Messenger Rooms will also feature virtual backgrounds (a feature you can also find on Zoom) but with a twist. The backgrounds will be 360 degrees, meaning as you move so will your background, according to CNN.
Facebook also announced that Messenger Rooms can be discoverable on the platform. This means you don’t have to be friends to share a video chat with someone. You can see other people through groups and rooms you’ve joined. You can also see people based on events you’ve been invited to.
People without Facebook accounts can enter the Messenger Rooms through a link.
You can also lock a Messenger Room chat to prevent unwanted or additional people from joining, Forbes reports. This has been a major issue with Zoom, as people have reported experiencing unwanted guests flooding their chats. Of course, the app will use the same data privacy policies as Facebook so you’re not totally private on the app.
An exact date for the launch of Messenger Rooms has not been announced. It will do a slow beta roll out across the globe.
According to CNBC, Rooms is already threatening Zoom, as Zoom’s shares closed 6% lower after Facebook’s announcement last Friday.
Once the platform launches, Rooms will likely be integrated into Instagram, WhatsApp and Portal, CNET reports