Facebook Is Testing A Mobile Screen Sharing Feature In Messenger

Facebook has been spotted testing a new screen sharing feature in Messenger that allows users to share their mobile screens – not just Facebook content.

Following Skype’s announcement, back in June, that it was launching mobile screen sharing on iOS and Android, it looks like Facebook is now testing the same feature in its Messenger app. The feature was spotted in Messenger for Android’s code by Jane Manchun Wong, who described it in a blog post this week.

In a Tweet, Wong described it as something “like Watch Together” but that it “ascends beyond contents available on Facebook,” meaning that friends can share their mobile screens rather than just their Facebook feed.

Facebook Messenger is testing Screen Sharing for mobile
It's like Watch Together but ascends beyond contents available on Facebook
I wrote a blog about this unreleased feature: https://t.co/NU8Tiw0xhK
Tip @Techmeme pic.twitter.com/Xcv3jOy4hp
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) August 28, 2019

After reverse-engineering Messenger for Android’s code, Wong says she found the “Screen Sharing feature “which indicates the development… has recently started.”

The feature is available as a button on the Video/Audio call screen and appears as “Share Your Screen Together.” You are warned that when the feature is active, your camera is turned off and members of a video chat can see the content on your screen.

Furthermore, Wong explains that at least on Android, the feature “will only work if the user has granted Messenger app the screen capture permission.”

After reverse-engineering Messenger for Android’s code, @wongmjane discovered a new Screen Sharing feature that allows users to share the contents of their screens – not just their Facebook feeds.

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The new Screen Sharing feature is just one more step that Facebook is taking in terms of encouraging private sharing and creating such spaces for its users. Moving away from public into a private space requires features like this to work.

In any case, Facebook has already rolled out a screen sharing feature in its Workplace chat feature two years ago, so it’s possible this new feature may not be too far off.