Facebook creates new ‘Audio’ hub for listening content

In light of the myriad of audio features that have arrived to Facebook over the past year, the number-one social media platform in the world is getting a bit of a revamp on both Android and iOS-running smartphones.

The Facebook app has officially created a new “Audio” section where everything from podcasts, music, Live Audio Rooms, and Soundbites will be found, as well as anything else audio-related Facebook conjures up in the future.

It does seem a little counter-intuitive that the entire new audio feature section is placed within an overarching tab called “Watch,” but maybe Facebook will notice and rename the entire section something like “Watch and Listen”—as there will surely be nearly as much material to listen to as to watch there at some point.

According to Facebook, the audio feed of podcasts and other content will evolve over time to best cater to your interests and preferences using specialized algorithms, much like your YouTube feed or regular Facebook “Watch” feed. 

While Facebook’s “Audio” hub has already begun rolling out to users some time ago, the company has officially announced it today, along with news of some of its unfortunate limitations. For the record, the audio hub is coming to Facebook users only within the United States, and to those aged eighteen and older.

International users will still only see the regular tabs “For You,” “Live,” “Following,” etc. in the “Watch” section, as always. Facebook has promised that sometime in the future, they will also eventually receive the versatile “Audio” tab, but for now, only US inhabitants will have that luxury.

Other Facebook Updates

Live Audio Rooms also recently became available on desktop, allowing you to enter a live chat room and connect with people through your computer, rather than only on your phone. It’s certainly gained quite a reputation to warrant its expansion, attracting Hollywood stars such as Miley Cyrus, Noah Cyrus, comedian Sherry Cola, and plenty more.

While Live Audio Rooms was something of a spin-off of the popular Clubhouse app, Soundbites, on the other hand, could be said to play off of TikTok’s short-form video format. Soundbites is currently starting to see a gradual roll-out to users around the world as well.

It is still far too early, however, to predict whether Facebook will ever be able to rival YouTube, for example, in terms of content availability and popularity. It’s certainly got a long way to go, especially in light of Facebook’s recent controversies in front of the U.S. Senate, as well as suffering one of the longest downtimes the platform has ever seen last week. 

If you’re one of the lucky U.S. users to have gained access to the new “Audio” hub on Facebook’s “Watch” section, we’d love to hear your feedback in the comment section below.