Meta has announced new features to the Messenger app. The social media giant has introduced features like opt-in end-to-end encrypted chats, notifications for screenshots of disappearing messages, stickers, GIFs, reactions and more. These features, Meta says, are aimed to elevate the private messaging experience for Messenger users.
Facebook Messenger began testing end-to-end encryption for group chats, including voice and video calls. The security feature is now available for all users. However, it will not be available by default. Instead, it is completely optional for the users who may or may not choose to open an end-to-end encrypted chat.
Another security feature that Messenger is getting is notifications for screenshots of disappearing messages in end-to-end encrypted chats. If Facebook detects that another user has captured a screenshot of a disappearing message in chats that are end-to-end encrypted, it will notify the user about it. The company has also added GIFs and Stickers to end-to-end encrypted chats along with verified badges to authenticate accounts.
Facebook Messenger has also introduced Reactions and the ability to reply to a specific message for the users. With the Reactions feature, users can tap and hold on a message to bring up the reactions tray to make their choice of reaction. They will also be able to reply to specific messages in end-to-end encrypted chats. Users can either long press or swipe to reply to a particular message.
The company has also introduced typing indicators for encrypted and group chats on Messenger. Forwarding a message in Messenger has also become easier. Users can long-press on a message and it will give you the option to forward. One you tap the ‘forward’ button, a share sheet will be displayed so you can share with one or many people or groups. Users will also be able to create a new group before forwarding a message.
Users can save media received in the Messenger chat by long-pressing on any image/video they receive. Additionally, they can add stickers, scribble or add text, crop and edit audio before sharing it with others.