Users will be able to start a video call from the app

Apr 28, 2015 07:52 GMT  ·  By

A few years back, Facebook had teamed up with Skype, making free video calling possible for all users, but things did not really work out between the two, as the social networking site soon begun using its own technology which allowed users to call each other.

Now the company has taken things a step forward and introduced a video-calling feature for Messenger, its mobile app that has gone through quite some changes lately. Soon after Facebook announced that users would be able to send money to one another using the app, it also revealed that it would open it to third-party developers.

This means that Facebook’s app is now ready to take on other similar services like Skype or Apple’s Facetime.

Although Facebook and Microsoft never made it public that they intended to severe ties, the launch of this app is reason enough to believe that the two giant companies have parted ways.

You can now have "face-to-face" conversations with your friends

With around 600 million users around the globe, it was about time Facebook launched this feature for its mobile app. Although the release will be gradual, it should not take more than just a few weeks before the update becomes available for everyone.

Facebook also announced that the new feature will be available on both Android and iOS, and people will be able to use it even if one person is using the first and the other the latter.

The post hinted at another future change which is expected to roll out soon enough, namely Business on Messenger, the function which was announced during the F8 conference and which will allow people to communicate with businesses.

Once the update is made, users should have a small button that looks like a camcorder in the upper right corner, allowing them to initiate the video call. Furthermore, you can use either camera or just switch between the two.

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Messenger users can now initiate a video chat
Users will be able to start the video call from within the conversation window
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