Facebook has (rightly) received a lot of criticism for its choice to divide the applications on iPhone and Android, removing the ability to chat and send messages in the main app and making, as already seen, Facebook Messenger mandatory to chat (unless alternatives ). Facebook Messenger, the Whatsapp-like app for chatting and sending messages for free, which many consider useless to have, still has several very interesting and powerful functions that make it one of the most useful apps on the stores.
It is therefore worth discovering which are the best features of Facebook Messenger (all free ) by summarizing everything you can do (which not everyone can do), as well as chatting, sending and receiving messages .
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1) Send instant photos and videos
If you want to send a photo or video to a friend, without having to do too many operations, you can use Facebook Messenger and send an instant video as already explained in another guide. You can use the front or rear camera and press the shutter button that appears under each chat window to take a photo or hold it down to record a video without ever leaving the application. This also works in the mobile chat windows so you can take photos from Facebook Messenger at any time.
2) Call for free
The function of free calls with Facebook Messenger dates back to over a year ago and is now easier to use and very advantageous especially if you are abroad (to make calls using a wifi connection). In each group chat you can press the call button to choose who to talk to and you can choose up to 50 contacts simultaneously.
3) Search for images to send on the internet
Instead of looking for pictures or photos on the internet, if you want to send some pictures to a friend in a chat, you can search directly from the Facebook Messenger application.
Open a chat, press the menu with the button at the top right and then tap on Search images.
The search is powered by Bing and just enter a word to find photos and images that, just touch to send them.
4) Share the location
If you need to let friends know where we are, open a chat with them, press the button with the mushroom-shaped pointer at the bottom to publish the map and the exact point where we are at that moment on the chat. The function is very convenient when we are late and have to justify ourselves in some way. To do this, just press (and turn blue) the round button that is at the bottom right of the chat window. If your friend does the same, you can touch the menu button at the top right and press "see map" to see where he is. The location function can be activated and deactivated quickly, if necessary.
From 2017 it is possible to follow the movements of friends in real time on Messenger.
5) Send recorded messages by voice with Facebook Messenger
To leave messages recorded as voicemail, just use the microphone button on the chat window. Press and hold the red button to record a voice message that will be immediately sent as soon as you release it.
6) Group chat
Group chats is a great way to communicate with a group of people at one time. Group chat on Facebook Messenger is done very well, each with a special tab, the ability to mark it as a favorite so that it is always on top and with notifications. It is also possible to disable notifications but still remain in the conversation.
7) Emoticons, GIFs, Stickers and Facebook Emojis
Facebook chat is really full of smilies and stickers to use in messages to say anything without words. Facebook has integrated a whole series of stickers for use in messages, with different styles available and the possibility to choose your favorite emoticons and download new ones. All emoticons can be selected by pressing the smiley face icon below each chat.
However, if you don't like classic emoticons, you can send GIFs on Facebook Messenger using the Giphy app or GIF Keyboard as an added plugin.
8) Receive messages as SMS
You can receive Facebook Messenger messages as SMS, useful in the absence of a network.
All the details in another article on how to receive Facebook notifications as SMS on mobile.
9) Since 2015, Facebook Messenger has become a real platform and, as such, there are many applications that integrate with the Facebook Messenger to share anything : files, music, photos, news etc.
10) From 2015 you can also make video calls with Facebook Messenger
11) From 2016 you can send and read SMS with Facebook Messenger
12) Add Nicknames and contact details
In case you have friends with the same name or with names you don't remember, you can assign them nicknames or change the way they appear in the Facebook address book. To do this, open a chat with the contact, touch the i at the top right to enter the details and assign a nickname to that contact. From the tab tap their name and add the nickname in the details tab. The contact details tab also allows you to give a different color to the chat with that person, to fix an emoticon in the lower right corner and to assign a different notification tone.
13) Play alone or with friends
In Facebook Messenger there are many games that you can play inside chats, with a friend or even alone. We saw this feature in detail by discovering the best Facebook Messenger and instant games on the web and apps.
14) Take photos and draw on them
With Facebook Messenger not only can you take a photo directly from the chat to share it immediately, but if you want it is also easy to draw on the photo, add stickers, smileys and other emoticons on it using the Stickered Facebook app, which integrates into Messenger as direct plugin (usable by touching the three dots at the bottom right).
15) Bots
As already explained in another article, BOTs can be added on Facebook Messenger as automatic responders, which can provide different services (such as mobile printing) or give information such as the news of the day or to receive the boarding pass for air flights .
16) Messages from non-friends
By default, those you receive in Messenger are only messages from friends.
To find out the messages received by non-friends in Facebook there is a hidden function that we have explained in another article.
17) Turn off message previews
If notifications are turned on, by default, every time a message arrives, the face of that contact appears superimposed. As explained, Facebook Messenger notifications can be turned off even if not in the way you would expect them to.
18) Name and QR code
in Messenger you can share the contact with a link and a QR code, as seen in another article.
In the end, even if nobody likes mandatory things, you can find out how Facebook Messenger is not so bad considering all the things you can do with this application, free and without limitations. Like Whatsapp, Messenger is also a great way to keep in touch with people, alternative and parallel.
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