Whether this new iteration sees greater success may depend on if Reddit can effectively moderate chat rooms’ content while still letting users feel comfortable expressing themselves. The platform tested community-wide chat rooms in 2018, but it wasn’t a huge success most of them weren’t particularly active, and many had their share of jerks and spammers that you’d expect from a quasi-anonymous online community.
Reddit has experimented with private group messaging in the past.
At a time when in-person opportunities to make friends are limited, this could be a fun way to form virtual contacts. And while the random chat rooms of internets past often led to awkward (or creepy) experiences, the fact that Start Chatting takes place in a subreddit means participants already have a shared interest and an easy conversation topic. It seems like a smart idea - plenty of folks would probably love to develop close connections with other Reddit users, but might be wary of reaching out themselves. These are tools to help you stay in touch, though what’s unique about Reddit’s service is that it’s focused on forming new connections. Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a recent blog post that Facebook hopes to make Instagram Direct, WhatsApp, and Messenger interoperable with SMS. It also doubled the capacity of WhatsApp’s video calls and added the functionality to Facebook Dating.
Last week, the company released Messenger Rooms, a video-chat service for groups of up to 50 people. Facebook revealed earlier this year that its vision has shifted to prioritize its messaging services, including WhatsApp and Messenger, as the majority of new users show low interest in Facebook’s traditional website and mobile app. Reddit isn’t the only platform increasing its focus on chat. The group will be entered into a chat room for private discussion and meme-ing. You’ll see a button labeled “Start Chatting” beneath the community’s description.Ĭlick that, and you’ll be randomly matched with a small group of up to seven other users who are also in the subreddit. To use the feature, you’ll want to visit a popular subreddit that has the feature enabled. Reddit says the feature is rolling out to around 50 percent of SFW subreddits this week. The feature, called “Start Chatting,” will randomly sort users of popular subreddits into small, private group chats.