Facebook Messenger updated with admin privileges and joinable links

With the latest Facebook Messenger update, not only can you create a custom invite link for your group chat, but you can also remove certain members as an admin.

People love to create group chats on the Facebook Messenger app – in fact, the company claims that 2.5 million new groups were created on Messenger every day last year! That’s precisely why Facebook is introducing new and easier ways to add and control group members. With the latest update, you can enable admin privileges, which let you approve new members before they join your group chat. As well, you can create convenient joinable links so that others can join in on the conversation with a simple click.

As for admin privileges, Facebook explains that whether it’s a group chat for a surprise birthday party or a study group, admins will have the ability to remove members and promote or demote any other person in the group chat as an admin. These privileges will be off by default, however, so you don’t need to worry about them if you don’t need that level of control.

As for joinable links, anyone in the group can create a custom link, which can be sent as an invite to the conversation. If admin privileges are turned off, people who click on the links will be added to the group automatically.

Facebook also points out that now you can have real-time voice and video chats in groups with up to 50 people though I’m not sure why anyone would ever need to do that – who has that many friends, anyway?