Facebook tests Rooms public group chat feature in Messenger

Facebook killed Rooms and others stand-alone apps in December last year that had failed to gain any traction. A report back in September said that Facebook is planning to integrate Rooms into Messenger. Now the company has started rolling out Messenger Rooms, a bulletin board-style, real-time messaging feature for users in Australia and Canada.

Rooms, based on a particular topic can be private or public, but it will be currently capped at 250 participants. Users will be able to publicly share links on topics, and the administrators will have tools to revoke access if some users choose to be disruptive or abusive.

Facebook recently released Flash, a Snapchat clone designed for developing countries. It also started testing Snapchat Stories style feature for Messenger.

Rooms is already available for Messenger users on Android in Australia and is being tested in Canada as well. Facebook is expected to roll out Room in Messenger for more users in coming weeks.