Facebook now has a new group video chat feature,  Messenger Rooms, that’s getting ready to compete with services like  Zoom, Skype, Houseparty and Microsoft Teams. This is at such a time when more people turn to video chat apps amid coronavirus lockdowns and quarantines.

Luckily, the video chat feature can be accessed on the Messenger app by anyone whether they have a Facebook account or not. The service arrives as many people have been looking for an alternative to Zoom, that has been facing a number of security and privacy issues in the past two months.

We, however, cannot forget that Facebook itself has been grappled with many similar problems that continue to drag behind it for years now. Mark Zuckerberg did take his time to state that the company has been “very careful” and tried to “learn the lessons” from issues with other video conference tools in recent months.

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So, whether you decide to use it or not, the feature is currently rolling out globally and here’s how you can use it to start a group call:

1. Open the Messenger app.

2. Tap the ‘People’ tab at the bottom right of the screen.

3. Tap ‘Create a Room’ and select the people you want to join.

3. To share a room with people who don’t have a Facebook account, you can share the link with them. You can also share the room in your News Feed, Groups and Events.

You can join a room from your phone or computer — no need to download anything, according to Facebook.

Facebook plans to add ways to create Rooms from Instagram Direct, WhatsApp and Portal as well. Features will include 14 camera filters and changeable backgrounds.