Facebook has spun out its events discovery functionality into a standalone app named, surprisingly enough, Events.

Facebook says more than 100m people access the events section of its app and site on a daily basis, and hundreds of millions of events are shared each year.

While the app includes updates from events the user is already attending, the focus is firmly on those looking for new things to do. The app highlights events that friends have expressed an interest in and from Pages the user likes, and has a browse function for recommended events based on location – where the user is, or anywhere theyre planning to visit – and their logged interests. The app also features a calendar of upcoming events, which can also incorporate events from external calendar accounts.

Its not currently clear if Facebook has any plans for monetising this app – based on CEO Mark Zuckerbergs previous comments about strategy for non-core apps, that might depend on whether Events ever manages to hit the 1bn user mark – or if its simply another attempt to further monopolise the amount of time people spend on their mobile.

The app is initially available on iOS in the US, with an Android version coming soon.