Visiting friends in virtual "rooms" is what Messenger Rooms will offer in the coming weeks. The new Facebook service launched on Friday wants to give people the opportunity to "pop in" to someone's home spontaneously. "It's designed to be spontaneous. I can just keep a window open and people I don't maybe not bothered to call can jump in there, "says Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of the social network. He considers that this is what people are missing during this confinement imposed by the coronavirus.
A friendly videoconferencing space
Calls made through Messenger Rooms can accommodate up to 50 people, and last as long as desired. Participants will not need to have a Facebook account. If they do not have the application, the link sent by a friend is enough to open a page to the room on their internet browser. The group is also working on access from the other apps in the Instragram group and Whatsapp.
>> LIVE - Coronavirus: follow the situation on Friday, April 24
Unlike the other videoconferencing leaders with Rooms, Mark Zuckerberg wants to favor a friendly social space for birthdays, aperitifs, book clubs, parent groups, etc. "I can sit on my sofa over the weekend and decide to invite my friends into the 'room where we hang out on his sofa'," said the Facebook CEO. Virtual reality effects and backgrounds can be used to personalize the rooms.
Compete with Zoom?
Since the start of containment, Zoom has been widely adopted beyond companies. Confined families use it to take lessons, exchange with their colleagues, socialize. Screenshots of "mosaics", showing participants in a call, flooded social media and the platform exceeded 200 million participants in daily meetings in March, up from 10 million in December.
CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS
> Can France hope for a more favorable scenario than Italy?
> Are women and people with blood type O more resistant?
> Are certain serious forms linked to a genetic factor?
> How will the distribution of masks take place in France?
> Back to school on May 11: under what conditions?
> How to keep sleep during confinement?
Zoom was also noted for its security problems of untimely intrusions into schoolyards or business meetings (called "Zoombombing"), to data leaks. Facebook said it has built strong defenses against this kind of risk. Stan Chudnovsky, vice president of Messenger, said Facebook would not watch or listen to calls. It will also be possible to easily evict people.