Social media giant Facebook now allows its Messenger app to share screen on mobile devices, enabling you to share your phone or tablet screen when you call a friend one on one, or while in a group chat, or even while engaging in larger conversations via Messenger Rooms.
Currently, you can share your screens or pictures with up to only eight people in group chats or up to 16 people in Messenger Rooms. Facebook, however, says it’s working on expanding the feature in Rooms for up to 50 users. The update is available on both iOS and Android.
Screen sharing feature on Facebook’s Messenger app
To use this latest feature from Facebook ensure that you have the latest version of Messenger installed. Then, swipe up from the bottom of your screen during a call to unlock options for the call. Then simply click on “share your screen,” “start sharing,” then “start broadcast”
Facebook gives you plenty of alerts before you start so you don’t get started sharing something by mistake. You can then do as you please on your phone, or return to the call to quit broadcasting.
Screen sharing feature on Facebook’s Messenger app
The latest feature is much welcome since video calls have been the saving grace of the pandemic, enabling you to connect with friends, family and colleagues, and the sharing of screens is particularly helpful. You can catch up with loved ones by flicking through images from a recent trip in your camera roll, or sharing specifics with a coworker about a work project.
Although screen sharing is already available on a number of video chat services including Skype and Zoom, Messenger works especially well on mobile devices, making it certainly a major improvement to have the choice on iOS and Android.
