Facebook Workplace Chat app launched for desktop and mobile

NEW DELHI: Facebook has launched its Workplace Chat application for both mobiles and desktops. The app lets Workplace platform users connect with each other easily over Android, iOS, PC or Mac. It also comes with some new features such as screen sharing and group video chat. The latter feature, however, will take some time to arrive but nonetheless, has been confirmed.

The social media tech giant added that Workplace Chat includes features like massage reactions, @mentions and supports gifs. The overall interface resembles the company's Messenger application. It has been further mentioned that Facebook Workplace will be getting a 'fresh' and 'consistent' look and feel across platforms.

The social media giant's Slack competitor is spread over 30,000 organisations across the world, which is double the number it had in April. Over 10,00,000 groups are using Facebook Workplace, according to the company.

With the introduction of Facebook Workplace Chat, it takes on rivals such as Google Hangouts or Meet. Time will tell if it will be able to achieve that target or not. For now, the firm might be looking to bring more users on its platform and make it more engaging and features like screen sharing or group video calls may be able to bring some traction.

It is worth adding that Facebook's Workplace Chat announcement comes a day after its competitor Slack updated its screen sharing feature. Slack may have an edge here as its large app directory, which makes group or personal chats more informative and productive. Facebook Workplace is yet to reach that stage. It does have integration with services like Box, Dropbox, Microsoft and others.

On a related note, Facebook recently announced that it will be changing its News Feed and will be splitting it into two. This intends to keep the commercial posts separate from personal posts.