Users will now be able to make video calls using both the iOS and Android version of the Facebook Messenger app.
The addition of the feature to Messenger is Facebook's entry into video chat, which has become an increasingly favored way of communication especially among family and friends living in different countries.
The video call feature of Messenger, which was discussed by Messenger head of product Stan Chudnovsky and engineering manager Param Reddy through a blog post on the Facebook Newsroom, can be used over both cellular and Wi-Fi networks. To access the feature, users only need to make a quick tap on the video camera icon located at the top of the Messenger app. The video call will immediately launch from within the conversation with the person that the user is calling up.
The video calls will patch through even if the participants are using devices which are powered by different mobile operating systems.
Facebook believes that its video calling feature for Messenger has an advantage over competing services, including Apple's FaceTime, Google's Hangouts and Microsoft's Skype, because it allows users to switch immediately from text chatting into the video call.
"Video calling will expand Messenger's real-time communication features, enabling the more than 600 million people who use Messenger every month to reach others wherever they are, from anywhere. It's fast, reliable and high quality," Chudnovsky and Reddy wrote in the blog post.
The feature will not immediately roll out to all users though, as video calls will only be initially made available to users in Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Laos, Lithuania, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uruguay. The feature will be rolled out to other countries over the coming months.
Facebook is looking to become more than a simple website where users upload pictures and videos to share with their friends. One strategy that the company is currently implementing is investing in communications services, headlined by Facebook's acquisition of messaging app WhatsApp last year for over $19 billion.
WhatsApp's popularity was because it allowed users to skip the expensive charges of text messages on cellular networks, with the service now boasting over 800 million active users from around the world.
Facebook is also grooming its Messenger app to become the preferred do-it-all communications service of users, with features ranging from making calls to transferring money to receiving customer support. Messenger will also soon be bridging the gap between business and customers as an easy communication channel for queries and feedback.
