Meta continues with its plan to bring integrate features across its products and Messenger is a core of this strategy for the platform.
Meta recently launched ‘Communities,’ a feature originally introduced on WhatsApp in 2022, in order to streamline communication for organisations, schools and private groups. The company has silently introduced the feature globally where all current and future members can see posts; unlike the Messenger app. According to Meta, each community has the capacity of up to 5,000 individuals, even if they are not members of a certain Facebook group.
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On the other hand, WhatsApp Communities, which require a user’s phone number for the invitation, the Messenger Communities can be expanded by inviting Facebook friends and friends of friends. While Meta did not make an official announcement, they confirmed the new feature to TechCrunch
As per the blog, “You can create a dedicated community on Messenger to connect with people with shared interests. These communities are managed by community admins and can be found, and joined by anyone on Messenger. They are not Facebook groups and do not include the same features as Facebook groups. Since communities on Messenger are designed for more public conversations, they do not follow the same privacy guidelines as your personal messages on Messenger, and instead follow similar privacy guidelines as community chats associated with Facebook groups.”
Reportedly, a person or local community can form a group to maintain connection and stay updated on various subjects. A society can create a specific group for topics related to upcoming events, security and other important issues. Similarly, a school might form a single group or separate group chats for each grade, which will also enable parents to participate in relevant discussion related to their children.
Meta shared few actions that admins and members can take. Both admins and members can invite new people, but only the page owner can remove someone from a group. Admins also have the authority to approve member requests, delete community chats due to inactivity and remove content that goes against community rules. Meanwhile, both admins and members have the option to leave the community and report content in a chat.
On the other hand, Meta introduced the Meta AI chatbot for WhatsApp business accounts in India and several other countries. This new feature is designed to help businesses provide better customer assistance and discover new products.
