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Facebook Bonfire: New app aiming to change how you interact with friends
The company is on a mission to keep young people on the site
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Your support makes all the difference.Facebook has created a new group video chat app called Bonfire.
It appears to have been designed to encourage younger Facebook users to engage more with the site, but has only been made available to a limited number of smartphone users so far.
The app lets you video chat with groups of friends, and features a number of Snapchat-style effects and overlays.
Bonfire was first spotted by the Next Web’s Matt Navarra, who managed to download it from the Danish App Store – the only country it’s currently available in.
“Bonfire is a group video chat app that lets you hang out with your best friends and meet new ones,” reads the app’s description.
“When you open the app, instantly start video chatting with friends. Use effects to express yourself and take pictures of your video chats to share on Instagram, Facebook, Messenger and more.
“From doing homework to catching up, Bonfire is the best place to get together with all your friends.”
It sounds very similar to Houseparty, another group video chat app that’s popular with teenagers.
While you can already hold group video chats on Facebook Messenger, setting one up can be a bit of a faff and most people primarily see it as an app built for text-based communications.
Facebook Stories, another attempt to get young people to share more video content, has proven unpopular.
Bonfire puts video first, and is closely tied with Facebook's major platforms.
It lets you take screenshots you can share on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger without leaving the app.
You can also join Bonfire video chats through Messenger, even if you haven’t yet downloaded the video chat app.
Facebook is on a mission to keep young people on the site.
According to a recent report, the social network's user base of 12-17-year-olds in the UK and US will shrink this year, with youngsters “less-engaged” with Facebook than they are with rival social networks.
They're said to be logging in less frequently, spending less and less time on it and even quitting Facebook altogether.
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