- Communities allow up to 5,000 members to join through shareable invites, consolidating multiple group chats in one space.
- Unlike WhatsApp, Messenger Communities use Facebook’s social graph for easier community building.
- Designed for more public conversations, all members can see chat content, aiming for broader social networking within Messenger.
Meta has started to roll out a new feature called “Communities” on Messenger. This feature is aimed at helping organizations, schools, and private groups communicate in a more organized and structured way.
Similar to the Communities feature introduced on WhatsApp in 2022, Messenger Communities allow users to connect without needing an associated Facebook Group.
The Communities feature in Messenger is designed to create dedicated spaces for real-time communication without being tied to a Facebook Group. This differs from the Community Chats introduced in 2022, which required a Facebook Group for real-time interaction.
With Communities, Meta aims to enhance Messenger’s functionality, setting it apart from other messaging apps like iMessage, and to add a broader social networking element within Messenger itself.
In Messenger Communities, multiple group chats are consolidated into one place, each featuring a dedicated “Home” space where admins can share updates and announcements.
Up to 5,000 people can join a community through shareable invites, according to Meta. This makes it a versatile tool for various purposes, such as organizations, schools, PTAs, neighborhoods, or even groups of friends with similar interests.
For example, a neighborhood could create a Community to keep everyone connected and updated on different topics like upcoming events, security alerts, or trash pickup schedules. Similarly, a school could set up a Community with dedicated group chats for different grades, allowing parents to join the conversations that pertain to their children.
While the Messenger Communities feature is similar to WhatsApp Communities, there is a key difference: Messenger Communities are linked to Facebook’s social graph. On WhatsApp, you need someone’s phone number to invite them to a Community.
In contrast, on Messenger, Community builders can grow their communities by inviting Facebook friends and friends of friends.
Meta has provided a help page indicating that Messenger Communities are intended for more public conversations compared to Facebook groups. For example, all current and future members of a Community can see the chat content, making it a more open form of communication.
The new Communities feature is now being rolled out to all Messenger users globally. This launch reflects Meta’s ongoing efforts to expand Messenger’s capabilities and differentiate it from other messaging services, while also integrating more social networking elements into the app.
