Meta is quietly introducing communities on Messenger

Meta is quietly rolling out a brand new “Communities” feature in Messenger, TechCrunch has confirmed. This feature is intended to assist organizations, schools and other private groups communicate in a more organized and structured way. The rollout follows Meta’s introduction of Communities on WhatsApp in 2022.

This feature allows people to attach with others without having to create an associated Facebook group to accomplish that. Meta introduced social chats on Messenger in 2022 to permit people in Facebook groups to attach in real-time, but with this recent feature, the corporate allows users to create dedicated spaces for real-time communication on Messenger without having to hook up with a Facebook group.

The launch indicates that Meta desires to expand Messenger’s functionality and differentiate it from other messaging services like iMessage. It also suggests it wants so as to add a broader social networking aspect to the messaging app beyond Facebook, helping people find and connect with their community directly inside Messenger.

Communities mix multiple group chats into one place, and every community has a dedicated “Home” space where admins can share updates and announcements. Meta says as much as 5,000 people can join the community via shareable invites.

This feature will be used to create a dedicated space for facilities resembling organizations, schools, PTAs, and neighborhoods. It may also be used to create a dedicated space for contact with friends with similar interests.

For example, a district can create a community that keeps everyone connected and informed about various topics. They can create dedicated group chats on topics resembling upcoming events, safety alerts, garbage pickup schedules, and more. The school can even create a community and have dedicated group chats for all classes, allowing parents to affix in on conversations about their children.

While the feature works similarly to Communities in WhatsApp, Meta says there is one key differentiator, and that is the undeniable fact that Messenger Communities are connected to Facebook’s social graph. While WhatsApp requires an individual’s phone number to ask them to a community, community creators on WhatsApp can grow their communities by inviting Facebook friends and friends of friends.

On help pageMeta says Messenger communities are designed for more public conversations in comparison with Facebook groups. For example, the corporate notes that every one current and future community members can see chat content.

The recent feature is rolling out to all users worldwide.