Meta launches Forum, a separate app for Facebook Groups. It starts in the US

Facebook Groups now have their own app. Meta announced Forum on 29 September for iOS and Android in the United States, after testing it quietly since May. Users sign in with their Facebook account and their existing groups load in one feed.

Forum adds an AI Ask tab that answers from group posts

The headline feature is Ask. It pulls together posts and comments from groups to answer a question, can compare options and suggests follow-up questions. Meta says the answers come from people’s own experiences rather than from the web.

Forum also introduces a Top Voice label for helpful members, whose posts get published faster. Topic labels such as Solo Travel or Korean Food let people browse conversations across groups, including public groups they have not joined. Admins get an AI assistant for moderation, The Next Web reported.

Meta tried a Groups app before and closed it in 2017

This is Meta’s second attempt. It launched a standalone Groups app in November 2014 and shut it down in 2017. Tubefilter notes that leakers had called Forum Meta’s answer to Reddit, and that it fits a wider push to turn Facebook into a recommendation feed, as already happened with Marketplace and video.

Forum launches without ads

Meta’s announcement does not mention advertising. That leaves brand-run groups and community managers as the first business users. Meta has spent the year adding paid layers elsewhere, from Meta One tiers for business profiles to a Creator Marketing Hub that merges creator search with ad buying.

Forum is live in the US on iOS and Android from 29 September. Meta has not said when it will reach other countries, so groups run from Europe stay on the main Facebook app for now.