The tech giant has quietly dropped Forum with the goal of giving "a dedicated space built for deeper discussions, real answers and the communities you care about".

In a listing on the App Store, Meta said: "Forum, a Facebook app, is a dedicated space for the conversations that matter most to you, built for the groups you already love and those you have yet to discover."

Once you've downloaded the app, users can sign in with their Facebook accounts with groups, profile and activity all carrying over, while you can also post "with a nickname".

The company noted that your groups "still exist on Facebook", and anything you share on Forum will still be visible on Facebook.

The new app is described as a way to "stay in the loop on conversations you care about".

Meta added: "Your feed is built around conversations from groups.

"See what real people are saying, not just what's trending, and easily jump back in where you left off."

Elsewhere, they said: "Forum brings people together around the things they care about, from niche hobbies to location recommendations to support groups."

Meta explained that Forum can also be used to "ask and get answers from real people", including "options, advice or recommendations".

They continued: "Ask pulls together response from across groups, so you can get answers right away from people who've been there and join the conversation."

It's noted in the listing that admins can still access all their tools on Facebook, where there is also "an admin AI assistant on forum" to help with group management, content moderation and keeping "communities healthy".