Facebook Messenger marks the 10th birthday this week. Messenger was launched as a separate app back in 2011 as part of Facebook.
But in all fairness, people really started to care about Messenger in 2014. Facebook users were forced to download the messaging apps by removing the messaging option from Facebook. Since then, Messenger has become more and more powerful, adding millions of users and becoming one of the top 3 messaging platforms in the world, along with WhatsApp (which also owns by Facebook) and WeChat.
The app has gone through a lot of change in its first decade. Facebook has announced a range of new Messenger features to mark the milestone.
Poll Games
One of the new things introduced to the app is the Polling Game. This doesn’t really improve the functionality, but it looks cool though if you love group chat with friends. Poll game support to play a game or ask a friend in a group who is ‘Most Likely’ to do a certain thing. The app can prompt you to start, or you can put your own stuff.
Birthday Gift
Facebook is introducing a new way to receive cash gifts directly through Messenger in the US. When a friend sends you a cash gift for your birthday, you’ll be notified on Messenger and Facebook with their gift message. When you check your Facebook Pay details, your cash gift will be credited to your bank account immediately. To send a birthday cash gift, go to the Facebook mobile app and tap the button next to your friend’s birthday post in your Facebook news feed or friend’s profile.
A New Way to Share Contacts
Here’s a new way to easily share your Facebook contacts with your friends via Messenger. Simply select the contacts you want to share, access your chat settings, and tap Share Contacts under the More Actions section.
Birthday Expression Tools
New Birthday chat theme and facebook specially curated “Messenger is 10!” sticker pack. Fill the sky with purple and blue balloons with facebook’s Birthday Balloon 360 background and blow out birthday candles with their Birthday AR effect.
You can also send a funny birthday song using Soundmoji. and use the message effect to add confetti to your congratulatory message or finish it with a ribbon.
Word Effects
Word Effects, a new way to pair words with emojis that have meaning to you and your friends. When used in your conversation, these words will trigger the selected emoji to fill your screen. You now have the perfect way to highlight inside jokes, relive your memories and add extra delight to your favorite phrases, like that song lyric stuck in your head or “Happy Birthday”. Word Effects will be coming to Messenger soon.
These features will be available to Facebook Messenger users in the coming weeks or months, along with special birthday effects, themes, and stickers. Facebook likes to take the time to offer new features, so don’t be surprised if you don’t see all the features yet. We still couldn’t discover these new features on Android. But Facebook needs to be available on all platforms once it starts to toggle for more people.
