Facebook Messenger Turns 10, Adds 4 New Features

As Facebook Messenger turns 10 years old, it’s adding four new features to enhance communication with friends, family, and colleagues.

Among the new capabilities are a way to send and receive cash gifts, as well as a way to create polls in group chats.

Here’s more about what’s being added today, and a look what Facebook has planned for Messenger in the future.

4 New Features in Facebook Messenger

1. Send & Receive Cash Gifts

Facebook users in the US can now receive cash gifts directly through Messenger.

When a friend sends you a cash gift for your birthday, you’ll be notified on Messenger and Facebook with their gift message wrapped and accompanied by virtual balloons.

Upon receiving a cash gift, you’ll be asked to confirm your Facebook Pay details and the money will be instantly deposited into your bank account.

Look for the option to send cash to friends on their birthday. Open the Facebook app and tap the button that appears alongside your friend’s birthday posts in your Facebook News Feed or their profile.

2. Group Chat Poll Games

Facebook is bringing poll games to Messenger as a way for friends to stay entertained in group chats.

Users can now play “Most likely to” in polls as a way to discover what thier friends think about topics like who is “most likely to send me cash on Facebook?”

Screenshot from about.fb.com/news, August 2021.

You can write in any prompt you want to poll your contacts about any topic.

To play a poll game in your group chat, tap Polls and select the “Most likely to” tab to pick a question and select the names of chat participants to be included as potential answers.

3. Birthday Expression Tools

Given that this update is released on Messenger’s birthday, Facebook is adding many birthday-themed tools to the app.

Messenger’s new birthday chat theme, for example, comes with a specially curated sticker pack.

Other such tools include:

• A birthday balloon 360 background
• Birthday AR effect
• Birthday song Soundmoji
• Confetti message effect

Screenshot from about.fb.com/news, August 2021.

4. New Way to Share Contacts

Facebook users can now share their contacts directly to their friends, which sounds like a perfect feature for networking events.

Simply select the contact you want to share, access the chat settings and tap Share Contact under the More Actions section.

Screenshot from about.fb.com/news, August 2021.

Upcoming Feature: Word Effects

Facebook reveals it’s working on a new feature called Word Effects, which pairs words with emojis that have the same meaning.

When used in conversation, words with corresponding emojis will trigger an animation to play across the screen.

Screenshot from about.fb.com/news, August 2021.

This feature is coming soon, while the other features listed in this post are available to use today.

Source: Facebook Newsroom