Facebook has released its newest app in Australia, the first of the company’s products to allow for true privacy.

The stand-alone app called Rooms, which launched in the US in October, allows users to chat with strangers on niche topics under pseudonyms.

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Unlike Facebook, which requires genuine identities, Rooms lets users operate under “nicknames”.

Users can create their own “room” based on a topic of their choice, such as dog lovers and those interested in fashion, and invite people to join either through private invitations or a public link.

The app resembles chat rooms of the early internet, where those interested in specific topics could talk without necessarily using real names.

The app appears to be an attempt to address privacy concerns, which have plagued the tech giant in recent years. Frequent changes to its privacy settings, and the requirement to use full names, have angered many users.

On Wednesday, many Facebook users in Australian were greeted with yet another change to its terms and conditions, made without their express permission.

“By using our services after January 1, you agree to our updated terms, data policy and cookies policy and to seeing improved ads based on apps and sites you use,” read the notification.

The new app, accessible only via mobile, is designed to cater for the photos and videos favoured by the Instagram generation, rather than the written word alone.

For now, the app is restricted to iPhone users, as versions of the app are yet to be launched for any other operating systems.

Facebook is not the first to release secret chatting apps, with Secret, Whisper and Yik Yak already popular.