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Meta has just announced it will launch a new feature in Facebook and Messenger, which will allow users to start group chats directly in these apps. Called Community Chats, the new feature will first be tested in Messenger and will expand to more Facebook Groups in the coming weeks.
The ability to start Community Chats in Messenger should allows users to create a Facebook Group, start chats and audio channels, as well as invite other people to join their group all within the app. The new experience is a mix between Messenger and Facebook Groups, but it doesn’t seem to replace either, at least for the time being.
There will be multiple options to start a chat for group members, like a specific topic, an event chat, a view-only broadcast chat for announcements, or admin-only chat that will keep the discussions between admins and moderators private.
In addition, admins will be able to create audio channels to allow group members to share live commentary or receive real-time support. Members of a chat group will also have the option to enable video once they’re in the audio channel.
According to Meta, the new Community Chats feature will be released alongside a solid suite of tools meant to help admins manage both chat and audio experiences much easier. Among these tools, Meta confirmed the suite will include moderation capabilities such as blocking, muting or suspending group members, and removing members or messages, as well as Admin Assist.
Admin Assist seems to be one of more useful tools since it allows admins to set custom filters to automatically suspend users, remove reported messages, and stop message from ineligible authors or containing violating content from being send.
Finally, all members of Community Chats will be able to report messages to group admins or directly to Meta, block users, as well as leave a chat at any time. As mentioned earlier, Community Chats are now being tested in Messenger, but they will be rolled out to Facebook Groups in the coming weeks too.
