A few weeks ago, Facebook confirmed it will bring Live Audio Rooms to its social network, pegging a release date in the second quarter of 2021. The social media giant is now testing out the feature with Taiwanese public figures.

Live Audio Rooms is one of the company’s attempts to capitalise on the live-audio social media platform craze sparked by Clubhouse (the other is called Hotline), and it works in essentially the same way as its… inspiration. Users can create and host audio rooms centred around a particular topic, either alone or with additional speakers, and others can tune in, listen, and even offer opinions and answers via chat. Kind of like a live podcast or radio show.

Facebook goes live

For the moment, Live Audio Rooms are only being tested with a few Taiwanese public figures, but Facebook intends to expand the feature to Groups too, reports Bloomberg. In time, Live Audio Rooms will expand to a broader user base in Facebook’s main app and Messenger as well.

Taiwan has one of Facebook’s most enthusiastic audiences, says Bloomberg, so it makes sense that it would start trying out its new product there. It would probably be in the social media giant’s best interests to roll out a full release soon. Many competitors have been looking to fill the Android shaped hole in the Clubhouse market, but with Clubhouse’s Android beta releasing this week it won’t be long before that door closes. And with all the hits it’s taken recently, Facebook probably wants a win somewhere.

Source: Bloomberg, via Tech Central