Group video calling lands on Facebook Messenger
Facebook just added a feature to Messenger that may make even the most ardent skeptics want to use the app: group video calling.
The chat app now allows groups of up to six friends to make video calls directly from their messages.
The feature, available now to anyone with the latest version of the app, also includes the Snapchat-like animated masks Facebook has been experimenting with on the iOS version of Messenger. (The company says Android support for the feature is "coming soon.")
Starting a group call works the same way as it does for one-to-one video calls in the app: tapping the camera icon in the top right corner while in a chat will begin the video call.
Facebook has limited the calls to groups of six, though up to 50 other participants to join in without video once the limit is reached. (If you want to have a wider group where everyone has video, you'll need to use another app like Skype.)
Though Messenger is still the app that many people love to hate, the addition of group video calling makes the app more useful than WhatsApp, which only just added one-to-one video calling last month.
Topics Facebook
Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.
