Facebook adds free group calling to Messenger

Move over Skype, Facebook Messenger is beefing up its calling features in a big way.

The social network is starting to roll out group calling features to Messenger's iOS and Android apps, Facebook announced Wednesday.

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The feature is rolling out to Messenger's iOS and Android app over the next 24 hours, Facebook's head of Messenger said Wednesday. A phone icon will appear in the top right corner of group conversations once the feature is live.

When you're in a call, you can see who in the group is participating in the call and who is not. Calls are currently limited to 50 participants per call, so the feature should be able to accommodate the vast majority of your Messenger threads. 

The update also makes Facebook Messenger more competitive with the likes of Google Hangouts, Microsoft's Skype and Slack — all of which also support free group calling.

Facebook has allowed voice calls through Messenger for years but hasn't supported group calling until now. (Video calls are still limited to two people, at least for now, though group video calling would seem to be the next logical step.)

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