Earlier this year, Facebook introduced Messenger Rooms, a feature that allows up to 50 people to meet up online in a video conference. The tool is meant as a rival for platforms like Zoom, which saw a significant boom in popularity due to the global pandemic this year. The feature has been brought into Facebook's multiple products, including Facebook proper, Messenger, and WhatsApp, but today, the company is adding Facebook Live integration as well.
Starting today in a few countries, it will be possible to begin Facebook Live streams from within Messenger Rooms. This will make it so that everyone participating in the Messenger Rooms meeting will be visible and audible on the stream, and anyone outside of the meeting can tune in to see what's happening.
The use case for this tool is pretty apparent. A host can conduct an interview with a group of people remotely and broadcast it for everyone to see, live podcasts can be done remotely without the need for other dedicated tools, and so on. As the creator of a room, you can choose to broadcast meetings to your personal profile, a page, or a group, and you can control who can view or participate in the call. Members of a Messenger Room need to approve the live broadcast before it starts, and participants can be added or removed at any time by the room creator.
As mentioned above, the feature is beginning to roll out today in a few countries in Facebook and Messenger on the web. Soon, it will expand to all countries where Messenger Rooms is available, and it will also be available in the Facebook and Messenger mobile apps as well as the Messenger desktop app.
