Facebook Inc. today introduced new tools for companies and other users who run Groups, which are taking on an increasingly important role in the social network’s long-term vision.

The features span several areas. The addition that should have the most direct effect on Facebook users, 1.4 billion of whom interact with Groups every month, is a series of new settings aimed at enabling administrators to moderate the content posted in their communities more effectively.

To start, Group managers can now have trusted members’ posts automatically approved upon submission. This feature should streamline the flow of content inside communities, which can potentially help improve engagement, while saving time for Group owners and moderators.

Facebook is also adding controls for dealing with unwanted posts. In cases when a submission is selected for deletion, Group supervisors will have the ability handle the process more transparently by giving users information on why the decision was made. A supervisor may also share notes about the action with the rest of the moderation team.

The controls are joined by a new support hub where Group administrators can report issues to Facebook’s help desk and request information. In the blog post announcing the feature, the social network said that it will strive to respond within a single business day. The company has also set up a learning portal with feature guides and other resources that cover common questions.

The expansion of the Groups management console is one of two updates that the Facebook released today. The other is an enhancement to its two-factor authentication mechanism, which now has a streamlined wizard for configuring login settings.

In the wake of the redesign, Facebook will no longer require users to register a phone number before they can use the capability. That’s an added convenience for users who rely on apps such as Duo Security for authentication instead of SMS codes. 

Image: Facebook