Facebook has launched group video calling in its Messenger platform for up to six users at a time. The global update for iOS and Android comes on the exact same day that Canadian messaging platform Kik debuted its own video chatting feature, which also allows for group discussions of up to six people.
Similarly to Kik’s announcement post, Facebook states that the addition is “the most requested Messenger feature ever.”
“With 245 million people making video calls in Messenger every month,” writes the company, “now we’re bringing everyone on Messenger the ability to turn group chats into face-to-face conversations no matter where you are – whether you’re down the street or halfway across the world.”
For groups larger than six people, up to 50 users can choose to just listen, join via voice or be on camera. Once more than six people are involved, only the dominant speaker is shown to the group.
To try the functionality, users can click the video icon in the upper righthand corner of their screen, which will notify everyone in the conversation.
In April 2016, the messaging platform introduced the ability to voice call up to 50 users at the same time. Facebook’s other notable messaging platform, WhatsApp, also recently added video chatting capabilities.
[source]Facebook[/source]
