Messenger Rooms: How to use Facebook’s free video chat feature

by James · December 11, 2022

If you don’t want to use a video chat service like Zoom or Google Meet, Facebook has a user-friendly alternative. Messenger Rooms arrived in May 2020 when people started looking for an alternative to Zoom, which faced a number of security and privacy issues at the time. Keep reading for Facebook Messenger Room’s stance on privacy and how to get started using the new video chat platform.

You can create a video chat room via Facebook or the Messenger app and invite up to 50 people to join a video call – even if they don’t have a Facebook account. There are no time limits on calls.

Read more: Facebook Messenger Rooms vs. Zoom: Which Video Chat App Is Better?

Facebook Messenger Rooms privacy considerations

While Facebook has also struggled many security and privacy issuesCEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a live stream that the company has been “very careful” and tried to “learn the lessons” from problems with other video conferencing tools in recent months.

More than 700 million accounts participate in voice and video calls every day on Facebook Messenger and Facebook-owned WhatsApp, and the number of calls has more than doubled in many areas since the coronavirus outbreak began, the company said in a press release.

Messenger Rooms privacy includes the ability to control who sees your room and can lock or unlock it. If it’s unlocked, anyone with the link can join and share the room with others. But the room creator must be present to start the conversation. They can control who can join and can also remove participants at any time. People can report a room for violating Facebook’s rules — though those reports won’t include video or audio from the conversation. Facebook isn’t listening to your conversations at all, the company said.

Read more: 10 Free Zoom Alternative Apps for Video Chats

How to Create a Facebook Messenger Room

To create a room from your phone, make sure you have the latest version of the Facebook and Messenger mobile apps downloaded from the App Store or Google Play Store. Then follow these steps:

1. Open the Messenger app.

2. Press Human beings tab at the bottom right of the screen.

3. Press Create a roomand select the people you want to join.

4. To share a room with people who don’t have a Facebook account, you can share the link with them. You can also share the room in the news feed, groups and events.

You can join a room from your phone or computer — you don’t need to download anything, according to Facebook.

Facebook plans to add ways to create rooms from Instagram Direct, WhatsApp and Portal smart screen also. Features include 14 camera filters and changeable backgrounds.