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Facebook’s Rooms App Gets More Usable

Facebook has released an update to Rooms, the mobile message board app it launched in October. The update adds a new “Explore” feature to make it easier to discover new “rooms” to join...
Facebook’s Rooms App Gets More Usable
Written by Chris Crum
  • Facebook has released an update to Rooms, the mobile message board app it launched in October. The update adds a new “Explore” feature to make it easier to discover new “rooms” to join.

    When Rooms launched, it wasn’t as ridiculous as Slingshot (an app previously released by the same Facebook Creative Labs team), but it also wasn’t the easiest thing in the world for users to get into. As my colleague Josh Wolford wrote at the time:

    If you download Rooms today, you might find it hard to find room to join. That’s because Rooms doesn’t (yet?) have a browse or search function. In another hit of internet nostalgia, finding and joining rooms is all based around QR codes – which are autogenerated for each room, and then used as tickets of sorts to join the boards. The app will scan your camera roll for any QR codes you’ve saved, and that’s how you enter into a room.

    Well, that missing piece has now been added.

    “Starting today, we’re giving you an easier way to discover and join these communities,” Facebook says in a blog post. “In Rooms v1.2, you’ll notice a new ‘Explore’ button in the top-left of the app. Navigate there to take a peek at a handful of awesome rooms and join them with a single tap! We hope you find a room that resonates with you.”

    Last month, Rooms added an activity dashboard and push notifications. Slowly but surely it’s becoming a more usable app.

    According to Facebook, “Over the past month and a half, our community has created tens of thousands of rooms ranging from developers emulating old video games on modern smartphones, to college fraternities, depression support, and Kendama tricks.”

    Still no word on when the app might launch for Android. Right now, it’s iOS-only.

    Image via Facebook

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