Facebook has decided to separate another feature of the mobile social network from the main site, similar to what it has done to Messenger on mobile devices. This time, though, the separation will not be forced down the mobile users’ throats. Facebook has launched its Groups for Android and iOS yesterday, without forcing users to switch to the new app.
Facebook groups are a common way for the users of the gigantic social network to gather around a topic and discuss it, in a manner similar to the online discussion forums we all like and use. Creating a Facebook group is much easier than creating a forum, and so is filling it with content and users. Yesterday Facebook has launched its latest app that will allow Groups users to handle their Facebook Groups more quickly and easily, with people who use them for keeping in touch with their friends and family, students, or enthusiasts of a topic or a common interest. (If you think about it for a while, the Groups app is a bit similar to Rooms, another recent Facebook app that focuses on common interests only, allowing its users to remain anonymous).
Users installing the new Facebook Groups app will gain direct access to their Groups in an instant. Their movement between their different groups will be made easier, and so will be the creation of a new group. Notifications are much easier to check, and so will be filtering out of the notifications from groups that are not interesting. It is apparent from the first look that the app was created with smartphones in mind, making it less appealing on the larger screen of a tablet computer. There is no doubt to the usefulness of the app, though – group notifications are usually lost between the many others when using Facebook through a web browser or an app. (It was only after I installed the Facebook Groups app that I remembered how many groups I was a member of – and started weeding out the ones I have not laid an eye on for quite some time).
Facebook Groups is available free for iOS and Android users through their respective app stores. The developer still owes us a Windows Phone version – hopefully it will be released soon enough.