We reported recently that Facebook was making some changes to the Messenger experience on the social network. It was only testing those features with a select group of users in Vietnam but the company has officially announced the change which means it’s going to be rolled out for all of its billion-plus users. Facebook has introduced Message Reactions and Mentions for Messenger today.
Reactions, first launched for News Feed, have now been brought over to Messenger. Users can react to an individual message in the same way that they would react to a post in their News Feed. This allows them to quickly show acknowledgment or express what they want to without having to actually write anything.
Adding a reaction to any message is easy. Just tap and hold on that message which will bring up the list of available reactions. Tap to make a selection and you’re good to go. It’s that simple.
Mentions for Messenger will make it easier to reach out to someone in a group chat. A participant can be mentioned by typing the “@” symbol followed by their name. When the message is sent it appears with highlighted text that others in the group can see.
The person who is mentioned will receive a different notification to let them know that they were mentioned specifically in the chat. These notifications can be turned off at any time.
Facebook has confirmed that both features are rolling out today and will be available globally in a few days.
Filed in . Read more about Facebook and Facebook Messenger. Source: newsroom.fb