Facebook Groups Now Available As An Independent App

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Facebook is turning another feature into a standalone app.

The social media has just released Facebook Groups, an independent app to help users stay in touch with all of their Facebook groups and find others. Moreover, the app functions as a centre for everything related to groups on Facebook. Upon launching the app, users see a list of the groups they belong to, with the most frequently viewed appearing first.

Though groups already existed within the main Facebook app, they are not featured prominently within the app, unless you get a notification from a group you’re a part of. By breaking out the feature into a separate iOS and Android app, the company is hoping to make it easier for users to engage with their groups.

Plus, similar with Facebook Messenger, the company says a standalone app will make the service faster on mobile. However, unlike Messenger, Facebook Groups is optional. At least for now.

The app also offers recommendations with the “discovery” tab, which displays suggestions on new groups to join. The suggestions are based on groups your friends are in, where you live and your interests. For example, if you’ve liked pages related to tennis, the app may recommend new groups about the corresponding sport.

Shirley Sun, a product manager at Facebook, says the app was designed for those already actively engaged in multiple groups, a rapidly growing demographic for Facebook. During the company’s earnings call in October, the company announced it had 700 million users in groups, up from 500 million in January.

“We intentionally want to make the app really simple. We want it to be very familiar to the current Facebook experience.”