The app, called Forum, lets users post in groups using a nickname and includes an AI-powered tab that pulls answers from across communities
Credit: Forum, a Facebook app
Meta $META has released a standalone app called Forum that turns Facebook Groups into a Reddit $RDDT-style discussion platform, according to TechCrunch. Social media consultant Matt Navarra was among the first to notice the app's presence in the App Store.
Signing into Forum with a Facebook account pulls in a user's groups, profile, and activity from that platform. While the app allows posting under a pseudonym, Engadget notes that a user's actual identity remains visible to the administrators of any group they participate in. Posts made through Forum are simultaneously published to the matching Facebook Group, keeping both platforms in sync.
Where Facebook's main feed blends posts from friends, followed Pages, and algorithmically suggested content, Forum is built around a different premise — its feed draws exclusively from the discussions taking place inside a user's groups. At first launch, Engadget reports that the app prompts users to indicate their content preferences, a step that likely enables it to recommend posts from groups beyond the ones they already belong to.
Forum includes two AI features. One is a feature called "Ask," which aggregates relevant information scattered across multiple group discussions so users can get answers in one place rather than manually combing through each community. The other AI feature is aimed at group administrators, offering tools to assist with the ongoing work of running and moderating their communities.
A Meta spokesperson told Engadget that the product is still in testing. "We test lots of new products publicly to see what people find interesting and useful to their experiences across our apps," the spokesperson said.
Forum is not without precedent in Meta's history — the company built a standalone app centered on Groups back in 2014, though it was discontinued three years later, according to TechCrunch.
Forum is part of a broader push by Meta to release more apps. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees that AI-driven efficiencies have made it possible to build products faster, according to TechCrunch. "So Chris and I have been talking about 'all right, well can we build 50 new apps?' Like, yeah probably. But we probably should start by doing a few before we just, like, ramp up trying to do 50 all at once," Zuckerberg said, referring to Meta chief product officer Chris Cox, according to TechCrunch.
The launch follows Meta's recent release of Instants, a separate app designed for sharing ephemeral photos among Instagram connections. Meta has also cut roughly 8,000 jobs and redirected thousands of employees into AI-focused teams as part of a broader restructuring, with projected capital expenditures for 2026 running as high as $145 billion — more than twice its 2025 outlay.
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