In its quest for world domination (I’m kidding), it looks like Facebook wants to be the place that can do it all. Recently, we heard about Facebook Live, in which Facebook rose against other live streaming services. Now, Facebook Messenger is all set to rise against other voice-calling applications by introducing a new update: group calling.
Currently, the free voice-calling sphere is dominated by Skype, Google Hangouts, and a few other apps. But now with Facebook Messenger introducing free group calling, it will prove to be a challenge for these other apps to keep up. Especially, if Facebook Messenger offers better voice quality, there really is no competition is there?
“Really excited to announce the global roll out of group calling in Messenger today. From any group conversations, just tap on the phone icon to initiate a group call. You can then manage individual participants on the next screen.” – David Marcus, Head of Facebook Messenger
The update will be rolled out to both iOS and Android apps and should reach every phone in the next 24 hours.
So how do I access Facebook Messenger’s group voice calling?
All you need to do is create a group with the friends you want to be a part of the group call. Once the group is created, you can select the phone icon at the extreme right corner at the top of the screen and you are good to go.
You can see who is participating in the call while you’re on it and you can add about 50 participants per call, for now. Although imagining a call with 50 members will definitely be chaos, no matter what.
If you have the latest version of Messenger, you should see the phone icon appear in group conversations within the next 24 hours. Give it a try, and as always, let us know how we can make it even better for you!” – David Marcus, Head of Facebook Messenger
What’s the next step?
Group video calling, of course. I guess that’s obvious.
Have you tried the feature yet? What do you think?
*Image and quote source: David Marcus, Facebook.
