Meta has quietly released Forums, a standalone iOS app focused on Facebook Groups aimed at attracting Reddit users. The app appeared in Apple’s App Store and was first spotted by Matt Navara of the GeekOut Newsletter.
Meta has not made any formal announcements about the launch and described it as part of its normal process of publicly testing new products to see what works.
To use the forums, you need a Facebook account, and your existing group memberships, profiles, and activity transfer seamlessly from Facebook to the new app.
How is a forum different from a Facebook group?
The forum removes most of the Facebook feed and focuses primarily on conversations within groups. The main feed focuses on group discussions rather than mixing posts from friends, Pages, and algorithmic suggestions.
The app uses anonymous usernames, similar to Reddit. Group administrators can see the user’s real identity, but other members only see the username they chose during interaction.
New users are asked to select the topics they are interested in, so the forum will show content from groups they are not yet a part of. Anything shared through the forum still appears in the associated Facebook group, and posts made directly to Facebook also appear inside the forum.
Previous Group App Efforts to Have AI Features Built In, Context, and Meta
There are two AI tools in the forum. One, called Ask, combines responses from multiple groups to allow users to answer without needing to search each community individually. The second group is an AI assistant for administrators, which aims to help with moderation and community management.
Meta did not provide details about the underlying model or clarify whether the groups’ content is used for training the AI.
Meta launched a standalone Facebook Groups app in 2014, but shut it down in 2017, saying it would focus on integrating Groups into the main Facebook app. Recent indications suggest that Meta has reversed that decision, now viewing Groups as a distinct product that again deserves its own dedicated space.
The move pits Groups against Reddit, highlighting its value as a place for user-driven recommendations, advice and specialized knowledge. Many users often add “Reddit” to Google searches for such content. Meta already manages millions of groups covering similar topics, and the new Forums app aims to provide a more discussion-oriented experience of that content.
Forum app availability on iOS and what’s next
The Forum app is currently available on the iOS App Store in the United States. Meta has not announced when it will be released for Android or other regions. The company describes the app as one of several products it publicly tests to gauge user interest, suggesting its launch may still be in the experimental phase.
