Facebook Launches CatchUp App: Everything To Know

Facebook is launching a new app that is meant to help people connect and communicate with each other in a very personal way. How does it work?

Facebook's New Product Experimentation (NPE) team's new app is called CatchUp. As the name implies, it is meant to help users connect with and catch up with one another, at the most convenient time.

The NPE team said the app is currently on a limited test run in the U.S. on both Android and iOS, which means its features and terms of use are subject to change at any given moment. That said, here's how the app works, and why it is designed that way.

Just communication

While messaging via popular apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, and video calling via popular apps like FaceTime, Zoom and the new Messenger Rooms are great, Facebook NPE team product lead Nikki Shah said being able to speak with others via a phone “offers a unique balance of both convenience and personal connection.”

Sometimes, however, people find it difficult to talk with people on the phone despite the abundance of call credits and video call apps. According to the NPE team's research, people don't usually call others because they don't know when the people they want to talk to will be available. They are also worried that they might call at an inconvenient time.

For this reason, the NPE team has created CatchUp. This app is basically just a regular phone app that allows for voice calls. The main thing about this is that it tells users if people are actually available to talk. This means users won't have to guess if the person they want to talk to is free to talk.

CatchUp users will be able to indicate that they are available to talk on the phone. When they are available, their CatchUp-using friends will see that indicated in the app. Users will then be able to call those who are available with a single tap.

The app also allows users to create or join group calls with family and friends via the app. This will allow users to catch up with more people at once.