‘Prayer tool’: Facebook's new feature draws praise from faith leaders, concern over privacy

The ‘prayer tool’ will allow users to tap an “I prayed" button when someone asks others to assist them with the power of prayer.

After creating a post, other users can tap the “Pray” button, responding with likes and other reactions along leaving comments and sending direct messages.

The tool will allow people to ask for help with challenges in their life like upcoming job interviews, illnesses and other challenges— either big or small.

The new feature comes as the company is reportedly fighting misinformation about Covid-19 and vaccine science on its platform.

According to a spokesperson for the company, Facebook began testing in the United States in December as part of an ongoing effort to support the religious community.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic we've seen many faith and spirituality communities using our services to connect, so we're starting to explore new tools to support them," the company reportedly said.

Under its data policy, Facebook uses the information it gathers in a variety of ways, including, personalize advertisements. However, the company says advertisers are not able to use a person’s prayer posts to target ads.

Meanwhile, about 20 to 30 prayer requests are posted each day, with each getting about 30 to 40 responses, according to Gabe Moreno, executive pastor of ministries.

Each time someone responds, the initial poster gets a notification.