Meta is subtly introducing a new “Communities” feature on Messenger. This new addition aims to aid organizations, schools, and other private groups in communicating more efficiently and systematically. This follows Meta’s introduction of Communities on WhatsApp back in 2022.
The feature allows people to connect without needing an affiliated Facebook Group. Meta launched Community Chats on Messenger in 2022 to enable real-time connections within Facebook Groups. However, this new feature allows users to create dedicated spaces for real-time communication on Messenger without tying it to a Facebook Group.
This move signifies Meta’s intent to expand Messenger’s capabilities and set it apart from other messaging platforms like iMessage. It also indicates a desire to broaden the social networking aspect of Messenger, enabling people to find and connect with their community directly within the app.
Communities group multiple chats into a single location, each featuring a dedicated “Home” area for admins to post updates and announcements. According to Meta, up to 5,000 individuals can join a community via shareable invites.
This feature is useful for creating dedicated spaces for entities such as organizations, schools, PTAs, and neighborhoods. It can also be used to connect friends with similar interests.
For example, a neighborhood could establish a Community to keep residents informed on various issues. They could create specific group chats for events, security updates, trash collection schedules, and more. Similarly, a school could set up a Community with dedicated chats for each grade, allowing parents to participate in relevant discussions.
While the functionality is similar to WhatsApp Communities, Meta notes a significant difference: Messenger Communities are linked to Facebook’s social graph. Unlike WhatsApp, where you need someone’s phone number to invite them, Community builders on Messenger can grow their communities by inviting Facebook friends and even friends of friends.
According to a help page, Meta states that Communities on Messenger are intended for more public conversations compared to Facebook groups. All current and future members of a Community can see chat content, for example.
The new feature is being rolled out globally to all users.
