Facebook Events Debuts As A Standalone App For Your Planning Convenience

Facebook users who RSVP to a plethora of events and forget to attend have a standalone tool to manager their calendar: the Facebook Events app.

Each year, hundreds of millions of events are shared on Facebook and 650 million people use Facebook events. According to Facebook, the Events from Facebook app is “a new app we designed for event seekers who are passionate about keeping up with nearby events and finding things to do with their friends.”

“The core thesis behind this app is that if we build something for the people really eager to discover events, people will have a good time,” said Facebook Events product manager Aditya Koolwal to TechCrunch.

Opening up the Events app brings forth event information from three different categories: events your friends are interested in, recently-announced events from Facebook Pages you like, and updates from events you are already involved with.

The Events from Facebook app is available for iOS users on Friday with an Android version coming soon. Those scouting for fun events can receive event recommendations based variables like time, location and interests. The app features an interactive map that breaks down events based on neighborhood and city-specific searches for those planning a trip.

Additionally, the app allows users to organize their upcoming commitments and add third-party calendars like Google and Apple's iCloud.

“You can keep track of all of your upcoming events in the calendar, which lets you see which days you’re already attending an event and when you’re free,” says Facebook. ”You can even choose calendars you want to add from your phone and view them alongside your Facebook events, so it’s easier to make plans.”

When users RSVP to or show interest in an event with their Facebook account via mobile or desktop, the news pops up in the feed of their social network. This will remain the case even when users make plans via the app, so don’t expect event privacy or secrecy. According to Facebook:

“The actions you take on events in the app will also be visible and available on Facebook. This way, your friends can see what you’re interested in and what events you’ve shared with them, even if they don’t have the app.”

Facebook Events is a feature that first launched in 2005, when the social networking platform was in its early stages. It was not until 2011; however, that the company started experimenting with making recommendations on local events by launching a "Suggested Events" feature that makes suggestions based on checkins. In 2014, the feature got a brand new look and an “Events For You” tab was introduced with a similar function of helping users discover events around them. This summer, the platform rolled out a “Featured Events” feature where a human curator picks the best events in a city.

“So the thinking I think we’ve had in the Facebook mobile app for a while is that experiences that we might add, whether that’s Groups or Events or things like that can reach a lot of people because the vast majority of phones have Facebook on them and people are using Facebook everyday,” said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2014 in an earnings call.