Meta quietly rolls out Communities on Messenger
Meta is quietly rolling out a new “Communities” feature on 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 rollout comes as Meta introduced Communities on WhatsApp back in 2022.
The feature lets people connect with others without needing an associated Facebook Group to do so. Meta rolled out Community Chats on Messenger back in 2022 as a way for people in Facebook Groups to connect in real-time, but with this new feature, the company is allowing people to create dedicated spaces for real-time communication on Messenger without being connected to a Facebook Group.
The launch indicates that Meta is looking to expand Messenger’s functionality and differentiate it from other messaging services, like iMessage. It also suggests that it wants to add a broader social networking aspect to the messaging app outside of Facebook by 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 admins can share updates and announcements. Up to 5,000 people can join a community through shareable invites, Meta says.
