Facebook launches Messenger Rooms globally amid video calling app boom

As the coronavirus pandemic caused a significant rise in the usage and popularity of video conferencing apps such as Zoom, many digital companies have been rushing to join the revolution by introducing their own options.

Most recently, the company behind messaging app Telegram announced its plans to bring secure group video calls to it, because, as the announcement went, "video calls in 2020 are much like messaging in 2013."

Shortly before that, Facebook shared its plans on launching its own virtual video chat service, Messenger Rooms, and today, it has been made available.

As Mark Zuckerberg's company explains in the announcement, Messenger Rooms will let users host free video calls with up to 50 people for as long as they want, no time limits, with friends, family and anyone else who is invited or gets sent a link to the call being able to join.

Notably, while Rooms need the Facebook or Messenger apps to be launched, the company allows for even non-Facebook users to join in.

Messenger Rooms can be shared anywhere on Facebook, be it the News Feed, in Groups or Events. As expected, the person who launched the Room can choose who's allowed to join as well as remove people, in addition to being able to lock the Room, preventing further joinings.

As mentioned earlier, launching a room requires the Facebook or Messenger apps. Apple iPhone users can get Messenger from the App Store here, while Android smartphone users can get it from Google's Play Store here.

In related news, a week ago Google announced that its Duo app will soon be supporting up to 32 participants in video chats, exactly matching the number of participants Apple's FaceTime allows for.