MobileNews

Facebook Rolls Out New Group Video Chat Feature

Facebook Group Chat
Facebook is rolling out a new group video chat feature for Messenger.

With Group Video Chat, Facebook users can call up to 50 people from within Messenger, giving them the ability to talk to a group of people face-to-face no matter where they are in the world.

Facebook said: “More and more people use messaging in groups for lots of different reasons like keeping everyone up to date, planning a family vacation or to share a few jokes.

“With 245 million people making video calls in Messenger every month, now we’re bringing everyone on Messenger the ability to turn group chats into face-to-face conversations no matter where you are – whether you’re down the street or halfway across the world.

“Chatting face-to-face live as a group is perfect for those spontaneous moments when text just isn’t enough… or when you have a major case of FOMO.”

The feature is available with the newest version of Messenger on iOS, Android and desktop, and lets users see six people at a time.

If a Group Video Chat has more than six people (it can be up to 50), users can listen in to the chat and contribute audio – once more than six people are on a video call, the dominant speaker is shown on the screen.

To video call a group, all users have to do is tap the video camera icon in the top right hand corner of any given chat feed.

Once this icon is tapped, the group is notified and the caller can choose who out of the group they wish to call (or just click “Ring All”).

Recipients of the call request can join the video chat whenever they want, and if the caller wants more group members to join, they can directly ring them while still in the call.

And to add a level of fun to the video chat, members can choose to wear 3D masks, although this feature is currently only available to iOS users.

To find out more about Facebook’s new Group Video Chat feature for Messenger please click here.

Simon Edmunds

Simon is the former editor of Global Dating Insights. Born in Newcastle, he has an English degree from Queen Mary, London and after working for the NHS, trained as a journalist with the Press Association. Passionate about music, journalism and Newcastle United.

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