Chat rooms have not withstood the test of time. They’ve evolved into Internet forums that focus a lot more on community, rather than anonymity. Chat rooms are gone. Until Facebook resurrected them. Under Facebook Creative Labs, a separate branch dedicated to creating mobile apps that augment the Facebook experience, the standalone mobile app, Rooms, was born.
Rooms replicates the experience of a chat room. Users can anonymously create a chat room about a particular topic. Other users (still anonymous) can join in the conversation and talk to fellow users.
The app will not connect directly to Facebook. You don’t even need your email address to get started. The app works using QR-code invites to participate in conversations. If you have the QR-code to a chat room, you can get started immediately. All conversations will be linked to your device. You still have option to link your Rooms with an email address so you can migrate access to other devices.
Chat room moderators can also customize the room in various ways. They can change the name of the room, its subtitle, its identifying picture, which emoticons they will use, and which users are banned from the room. Moderators can also designate their room as “18+.”
The app is still developing. There is currently no way to search for existing chat rooms or even getting recommendations besides knowing the QR-code. However, it is currently available for the iOS.
