Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger now lets everyone post status updates that disappear after 24 hours

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 9, 2017

Facebook announced Thursday that a feature in its mobile Messenger app that allows people to post auto-disappearing photos and videos has now begun rolling out globally following a previous soft launch in select countries like Poland and Australia. They're calling it Messenger Day because anything you post there disappears automatically after 24 hours, just like with Instagram Stories or those auto-vanishing status updates on WhatsApp.

You're in full control of the scope of your Messenger Day and can choose to share it with everyone on the service, people you're friends with or cherry-picked contacts.

Facebook is testing Reactions and all-new Dislike button in chats on Messenger

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 6, 2017

Some users of the mobile Facebook Messenger app have noticed that the empathetic Reaction emojis, which launched in the company's mainland mobile app in February 2016, are now available to them inside the standalone messaging app, along with a brand now iMessage-like Dislike button that's yet to launch in the main Facebook app.

Facebook's confirmed this new feature to TechCrunch.

Facebook Messenger testing iOS 10 Messages-like chat interface redesign

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 7, 2017

Facebook is testing a redesign of the chat interface in Messenger for iPhone, which in some aspects resembles Apple's overhauled iOS 10 Messages app. The enhanced chat UI is currently being tested with a small subset of Messenger's user base, but there's no telling when, or if it might launch for everyone. I spotted Messenger's upcoming chat UI refresh on a friend's device. At the time of this writing, the Messenger app on App Store had version 103.0.

Group video chat in Facebook Messenger rolling out globally starting today

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 19, 2016

After enabling group audio calling on Messenger with support for up to 50 participants back in April 2016, Facebook today launched group video chatting on its popular messaging service. The ability to video chat in groups is the most requested Messenger feature ever, according to product manager Stephane Taine. The feature is rolling out today on iOS/Android and the desktop version of Messenger.

How to stop people you’re not friends with from showing up in your Facebook chat

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated November 21, 2022

If you use Facebook, you might have noticed there are people you aren’t friends with appearing in your Facebook Messenger sidebar when using the desktop website or mobile app. Although this is meant to be a way for you and your potential friends to connect on Facebook, some people find this overbearing and an invasion of privacy.

There is a way to prevent people you aren’t friends with from appearing in your Facebook Messenger sidebar, and in this tutorial, we’ll show you how you can do it.

Data Saver mode is reportedly coming to Facebook Messenger in a few weeks

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 20, 2016

I use Facebook Messenger literally every single day to message my friends and family and have always hated how the mobile app discriminately downloads media content regardless of whether I open the message or not.

Sometimes my friends would attach really long videos or high-resolution shots to their messages, prompting me to completely disable cellular access for Messenger on my iPhone, but then I don't receive their texts on the go.

Wouldn't it be better if Messenger handled data-hungry attachments more intelligently when the user is connected to a cellular network? As per a report by The Next Web a few days ago, a new data saver option is indeed coming to Messenger in a few weeks.

Facebook getting ready to ape Snapchat with Messenger Day, a visual storytelling feature

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 18, 2016

If you live in Poland or Australia, you might have stumbled upon a brand new feature at the top of Facebook's Messenger app, called Messenger Day. As reported by Mashable on Tuesday, Facebook has begun expanding this new feature across the globe following launch of Instagram Stories last month. Available in the mobile Messenger app for iOS and Android, Messenger Day is about sharing what you're up to in the form of auto-dissapearing updates, stickers and sketches.

Facebook Messenger picks up live-streaming feature, called Instant Video

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 1, 2016

Facebook today announced a new live-streaming feature on the mobile Messenger app, dubbed “Instant Video”. Similar to the live-streaming feature built into the mobile Facebook app, Instant Video allows you to start streaming live video with a friend on Messenger by tapping a new button found in chat windows. The video streams in a small window so that you can continue chatting while streaming.

Envoy lets you remove the unwanted sections from Facebook Messenger

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 15, 2016

It seems to be a mutual interest of a great number of Facebook Messenger users to remove those unwanted "Favorites" and "Active Now" sections from the Facebook Messenger app.

Although we covered a tutorial in the past on how to remove these features manually for a temporary period of time, they would always come back after a few days or weeks. A new free jailbreak tweak dubbed Envoy aims to change that.

How to hide the Favorites and Active Now sections in Facebook Messenger app

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated November 23, 2021

I have a big gripe with the Facebook Messenger app ever since Facebook decided to launch a major UI change without letting me know in the change log first. And now, I'm stuck with an annoyance right smack in the middle of my conversation list when I open the app.

Fortunately, there is a way to hide these annoying 'Favorites' and 'Active Now' sections, even if temporarily, and we'll show you how in this tutorial.

Facebook Messenger hits a major milestone—one billion monthly users

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 21, 2016

Facebook yesterday announced that its Messenger service has hit a major milestone: the software is now being used by more than one billion people every month to message their friends and family. Messenger saw a major surge in popularity after it was decoupled from the main Facebook mobile client, and especially since becoming a software platform in its own right with chat bots, apps, money payments, expanded emojis and other features.

Facebook Messenger is a free download from the App Store.

At long last, Facebook Messenger implements 3D Touch Peek and Pop

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 13, 2016

Better late than never: 3D Touch gestures are now available within the free mobile Messenger app from Facebook. The latest Messenger update on the App Store increases the app's version number to 79.0, with Peek/Pop support on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus being the only change mentioned in release notes accompanying the 109-megabyte download.