Facebook’s standalone messaging app Messenger has announced that it is rolling out audio group calling on mobile, both iOS and Android globally. This can be done by tapping on the phone icon in a group chat to start a phone call, and individual participants can be managed on the next screen. TechCrunch reports that a maximum of 50 people can be added to the call. If a user misses the initial call, they can join the call if it’s still in progress by tapping the phone icon in the group chat. Since participants can see all other participants, they can ping those who haven’t joined. The report makes a valid point when it says that it’s much easier to block people on Facebook than it is when one gives away their phone number to someone. A phone number virtually gives the other person the ability to message on WhatsApp or other messaging services, leading to all sorts of privacy invasion and awkwardness, a thing journalists would especially be familiar with. Messenger bots: Earlier this month, Facebook opened its Messenger Send/Receive API that supports bot development on its chat platform to all developers. The API can be used to provide various kinds of bots on Messenger, including for weather, traffic updates, shopping receipts, shipping notifications and live automated messages etc., which users can access by interacting with services that provide them. All developers can now access the API and its documentation to build apps, but will still require to get an…
