Facebook has come up with another calling application called Catch-Up. The idea behind the new app is to coordinate call timings with friends and family members. The new app is developed by the company’s New Product Experimentation team.

The app allows its users to engage in a group calling with up to 8 members.  However, this is not the first platform from Facebook that gives users this facility including WhatsApp, Messenger Rooms, etc.

The main differentiating factor between Catch-Up and several other Facebook-owned groups calling platforms is that CatchUp CatchUp tells its users when other users of the are available to talk.

People don’t call friends and family more frequently is that they don’t know when they are available to talk or are worried they may reach them at an inconvenient time. CatchUp addresses this problem, and even makes group calling as easy as one tap.”

The app allows the user to indicate when they are available to talk and call friends and family. The other members will also be able to do the same and designate a common time for the call. The new platform will work with existing contact lists on the phone and users will not need a separate Facebook account.

The Catch-Up app is being tested in the United States for now and is being rolled out for iOS and Android. Considering that the application is experimental, it is still subject to change.

Users can also create and join groups of friends, family, and mutual contacts in the app, as you can with other chat apps. Or they can place 1-on-1 calls as an alternative to using the phone.

Placing a call is simple as well. It’s just a one-button tap — not a complicated process of calling contacts, then “merging” calls as you do on your smartphone’s Phone app.

Facebook explains the idea for the app actually came about prior to the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent quarantine, but the NPE Team accelerated the app’s development as a result of the pandemic.