Meta wants to make it easier for you to find and chat in Facebook Groups

Meta Facebook Groups update 2022

New features intended to help you connect with like-minded people are coming to Facebook, as Meta rolls out different ways to interact with Facebook Groups on mobile.

One of the major revisions coming to the Facebook app includes a new sidebar to help you quickly find your favourite groups. This sidebar lists groups you’re active in and gives you a quick glimpse at any activity you might have missed, like posts and chats. Additionally, within the sidebar view, you can pin groups you want to see first, as well as the ability to discover and create new ones.

Meta Facebook Groups sidebar update.
An example of what the updated Facebook Groups sidebar will look like. Source: Meta.

When the updates roll out, each group will include a new-look menu to help keep important information all in one place. This includes events, shops for merch, and other ways to connect with fellow group users.

Similar to the gaming-themed chat platform Discord, Facebook Groups now have more options for branching out into smaller chat spaces, including topic-specific channels. Group admins can create text or audio channels where people can interact in real-time within the group and Messenger. Examples provided by Meta include chatting about new releases in a gaming group or sharing live recipe feedback in a cooking group.

Meta is currently testing the new Facebook Group tools and features, providing a statement to The Verge that we’ll see the changes made public “in the coming months”.

Meta Facebook Groups text channel update
A glimpse at how channels will work within Facebook Groups. Source: Meta.

It’s undeniable that many of the upcoming group features look an awful lot like Discord and other chat-based platforms. What remains to be seen is how widely adopted the new community tools will be on Facebook. It’s unlikely Meta will lure over rusted-on Discord users, but Facebook users will potentially benefit from greater group customisation.

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