Zoom Rival Facebook's Messenger Rooms Goes Live Worldwide

Capitalizing on the growth of video chat during the pandemic, Facebook Inc. FB has taken its Messenger Rooms live worldwide.

What Happened

Facebook has made its drop-in video chat Messenger Rooms available globally. The service allows up to 50 participants to video conference without any call length restrictions. The rooms feature will allow the social media giant to build on the massive growth of video call usage across services, according to TechCrunch.

Using Messenger Rooms, a contact can create a “room” and Facebook will alert friends through a new section in the news feed, or a push notification.

Why It Matters

According to Facebook, it already has more than 700 million account holders using video and voice calls on its Messenger and WhatsApp platforms.

Facebook is unlikely to grab a slice of the enterprise user pie from the likes of Zoom Video Communications Inc. ZM, but Rooms is an attempt to provide a free alternative in the video conferencing space while attracting some users from both Zoom and TikTok, according to TechCrunch.

The security and privacy features of Messenger Rooms such as Room locking, control over participants, reporting, and blocking are being touted by Facebook.

Meanwhile, after facing a backlash, Zoom has upgraded its security features, adding an easily accessible security panel.

Rooms can be used by non-facebook users as well,  and the company will be extending it to Instagram Direct, WhatsApp, and its own social media portal in the future.

Previously, Facebook had rolled out Rooms to a limited number of countries.

Facebook Price Action

Facebook shares traded 0.23% higher at $207.28 in the after-hours session on Thursday. The shares had closed the regular session 0.83% higher at $206.81.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Facebook.