Facebook Groups

Facebook has to be one of the most popular applications on Google Play Store, if not the top one. But the company seems to continue launching complementary applications to the world's top social networking app.

Facebook Groups aggregates all of the groups you've subscribed to together with the ones you manage, bringing them all into one place. Still, the app has some issues and definitely needs some more work.

Intuitive and clean design, in the same style as the Facebook app

Facebook Groups comes as a complementary application to the main Facebook app which many people use on their phones. The interface is quite similar to that of the main app, it's clean and has all sections arranged into tabs on the top of the screen.

You must use your Facebook profile to log in the app and it will automatically display thumbnails with the groups in which you're a member and the new posts that you haven't read yet.

You can enable push notifications inside the app or sounds for when new posts are made. Moreover, you can make different changes for each group but Facebook chose to keep it simple with this app so there aren't many settings available.

Manage groups or comment on posts

Still, no one can deny that it's a good idea to have an app dedicated to Groups, especially since it makes it so easy to manage comments and users. The home page is filled with all the groups you've joined or are currently managing, tap on one to open and read posts, comment or view the current members.

There's a search bar that you can use in order to find members but it doesn't work properly all the time. The list of admin is also provided and you can invite whichever friends you like to join the group. Members of a group are able to search for posts in that group.

Join groups or create one of your own

The app also has a section with suggestions of groups that you may wish to join. The selection is based on your current preferences and membership in other groups. You can also use the search bar to find certain groups but you'll have to have patience with this app as it takes a while to load results.

Creating a group is really easy, all you need to do is choose a type and then add a name and a picture. You can also invite friends to the group, but you'll have to decide if you wish to make it public or private.

The app has some shortcomings and needs a bit more work, as it sometimes doesn't refresh pages and fails to publish posts to the wall. In addition, notifications appear both in Facebook Groups and the main app so you'll have two sets of notifications. The app seems to fail to update the news feed in due time.

Portable version:

• Facebook Groups for iOS