Meta is quietly rolling out a new “Communities” feature on Messenger, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The feature is designed to help organizations, schools and other private groups communicate in a more organized and structured way. The launch comes as Meta introduced Communities to WhatsApp in 2022.
The feature allows people to connect with others without needing an associated Facebook Group to do so. Meta launched Community Chats on Messenger in 2022 as a way for people in Facebook Groups to connect in real time, but with this new feature, the company allows users to create special spaces for real-time communication in Messenger without join a Facebook group.
The release shows that Meta wants to expand Messenger’s functionality and differentiate it from other messaging services like iMessage. It also suggests that it wants to add a broader social aspect to the messaging app outside of Facebook, helping people find and connect with their community directly on Messenger.
Communities consolidate multiple group chats into one place, and each Community has a dedicated “Home” space where admins can share updates and announcements. Up to 5,000 people can join a community through shareable invites, Meta says.
The feature can be used to create a dedicated space for things like organizations, schools, PTAs, and neighborhoods. It could also be used to create a dedicated space to connect with friends with similar interests.
For example, a neighborhood could create a Community to keep everyone connected and informed about different topics. They could create dedicated group chats about topics like upcoming events, security alerts, garbage pickup schedules, and more. Or, a school could create a Community and have dedicated group chats for all classes, allowing parents to join in on discussions about their children.
While the feature works similarly to Communities on WhatsApp, Meta says there’s a key differentiator, which is the fact that Messenger Communities is linked to Facebook’s social graph. While WhatsApp requires you to have someone’s phone number to invite them to a Community, community builders on WhatsApp can grow their communities by inviting Facebook friends and friends of friends.
On help page, Meta says that Messenger Communities are designed for more public conversations compared to Facebook groups. For example, the company notes that all current and future members of a Community can view chat content.
The new feature is available to all users worldwide.
