Ahead of Christmas, Facebook Messenger expands group chat features

If you are not physically with your family this Christmas, Facebook Messenger's latest group chat feature rolled out on Monday can mitigate the distance.

Adding the most-requested feature ever to the app, Facebook said the video chat feature will be rolled out immediately to Android and iOS devices, and the desktop version of Messenger, worldwide.

"With 245 million people making video calls in Messenger every month, now we are bringing everyone on Messenger, the ability to turn group chats into face-to-face conversations no matter where you are," Facebook said in a blog post on Monday.

One can see up to six people at a time on the group video chat and up to 50 friends can join in the group. The added ones can choose to just listen, join the conversation without being on camera, or simply be visible using the camera.

"Once more than six people are on the call, just the dominant speaker is shown to all participants," Facebook noted.

Customers will require the latest version of Messenger app on their phone to get started with the new feature. To start a video group chat, one just has to jump into an existing group conversation or create a new one and then tap the video icon on the upper right of the screen.