As the Covid-19 pandemic spread across the world, online communication quickly became more important than ever before. Stringent measures imposed by governments everywhere made it necessary that most in-person activities go digital. Companies like Facebook and Zoom struggled to meet the new demand by providing new products and features, while internet providers everywhere felt the strain on their networks. At a time when social distancing is essential, online communication emerged as the only way to stay connected to those around us, while also gaining access to news, education, and entertainment. As online communication is also fundamental in building a good remote work environment, it’s important to know what new products and features are now available online.
Facebook Messenger Rooms
As a response to both the pandemic and the growing demand for video platforms, Facebook announced the launching of Messenger Rooms. This new feature allows users to make group video calls in order to spend time with friends, family, or colleagues. Anyone who wants to use Messenger Rooms can do so by using either Messenger or Facebook. Video call hosts can invite anyone to participate by sharing a link, even people who don’t have a Facebook account. Messenger Rooms will allow video calls involving up to 50 people simultaneously, with no time limit. In addition to the AR effects already available on Facebook Messenger, the company will also introduce new AI-enabled virtual backgrounds to improve the users’ experience.
As Facebook users can now host parties, book clubs, or even business meetings on Messenger Rooms, the new option will probably become a worthy adversary to both Zoom and Houseparty. Both these video-calling platforms have seen an important increase in usage over the past month, due to the pandemic, and Facebook may see similar results. After all, CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said that the number of video calls has increased dramatically in most countries after the lockdown, while demand for real-time video calls and content is also growing constantly. In the regions most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, the number of Messenger and WhatsApp video calls doubled. Facebook Live and Instagram Live views surged in March.
Privacy and Security Concerns
The novel coronavirus pandemic may have created a perfect environment for new video-calling platforms, as well as ideal conditions for the existing ones to grow, but that doesn’t mean the growing demand will come at no cost. As it reached the new milestone of 300 million daily users, Zoom was quick to announce the release of a new update designed to respond to a growing number of security concerns regarding its services. Previously, Zoom made headlines all over the world after its vulnerabilities were used by trolls to enter private meetings and harass the participants. Despite these flaws, people continued to use the video conferencing platform for their meetings, allowing its developers to fix the problems.
As he announced the new update, Eric Yuan, Zoom’s Chief Executive Officer, said the company hopes to earn the clients’ trust and deliver them happiness with its unwavering focus on providing the most secure platform. However, while the new update is surely a big step in that direction, trolls are not the only problem Zoom and its users are facing. According to The Intercept, the platform’s claims that meetings can be “end-to-end encrypted” are, in fact, misleading. As a response to these allegations, Zoom quickly issued a statement saying the platform has layered safeguards in place to protect the users’ privacy, preventing anyone, including Zoom’s own employees, from gaining access to information shared by users during meetings. Video, audio, and chat content are safe, according to Zoom.
Conclusion
Whatever problems it may be facing, Zoom is rising above apps like Facebook Messenger, Netflix, and TikTok, quickly becoming one of the few success stories during the Covid-19 pandemic. With students, employees, and friends all over the world using it, the app topped the free charts in both Apple and Google mobile app stores in the U.S., according to CNBC. Facebook took note of the rapid success and set out to create a similar outcome for its newly launched Messenger Rooms. However, with the lockdown still in place and multiple internet providers seeing strain on their networks, privacy and security might be more important than ever.
