The Best Hidden Features on Facebook Messenger

Research studies have shown that more than a billion people across the world use Facebook Messenger every month. Are you among these people? And are you making the most out of the opportunities that you have? After Messenger became an independent app, Facebook has been adding multiple functions gradually to make it unique. The app has lots of amazing features that you’ve never discovered. Let’s talk about them now.

Access Messenger via your computer

Today, you can message your friends and followers using your computer without being distracted by the News Feed. All you need to do is visit Messenger.com and log in to your account. Another simple way to access a conversation on this platform is by visiting their website and including the username of your friend at the end. The desktop version looks like the normal version in many ways. And you can access it from Facebook. However, it doesn’t have a search bar.

Send and request money

Facebook has permitted users to send and receive funds over the past few years. Similar to Venmo, Messenger allows you to connect your bank card to the app and send or request money from your friends. You can link your bank card to the app by going to Payments under the Profile section. To request or send, you need to start a chat with your friend and press the plus sign at the left corner near the bottom. Tap on Payments and enter the amount.

Add a friend using your profile code

If you have met someone and liked them on Facebook, you can send them a friend request instantly by having them scan your special profile code. You can pull it up by tapping on the profile icon at the top left corner. Tap the profile picture once again and press My Code to see the code. Now, you can scan the code to add the individual as your friend.

Use stickers, thumbs-up, and GIFs

Facebook has integrated a wide range of stickers to enable you to use them in messages. There are lots of amazing styles. Choosing your favorites will allow you to keep them available. If you don’t like stickers, Facebook has introduced Giphy into the app. You can easily find a GIF of your choice and insert it into your messages. The thumbs-up button can also be used for a simple reaction to messages. Most people don’t know that they can resize it by holding the thumb before posting.

Mute Messenger notifications

If you are in an active group chat, you’ve probably thought of it as a special form of torture. Being notified when you have a message can be irritating. You can solve this problem by muting the entire group chat. Conversations can be muted for 24 hours, eight hours, one hour, or fifteen minutes. You can also choose an indefinite period. If this doesn’t satisfy you, you can disable Messenger notifications completely at the settings menu of your phone.

Hold secret conversations

Today, you can start an encrypted conversation in Messenger that no one outside it can see. Facebook and the government do not have permission to view these conversations. They protect these conversations using end-to-end encryption which is similar to its sister app, WhatsApp. To start a secret conversation, all you have to do is tap Secret in the upper right corner and choose a friend that you want to converse with. You can also make your messages disappear for a specified period by tapping on the clock icon located on the left side of the text box.

Share recipes, flights, restaurants, and more

Thanks to the lineup of third-party apps that have been integrated with the app, you can send your friends some amazing stuff in the blink of an eye. If you are talking about traveling, you can look for and share hotels or restaurants and flight options with your friends. You can also share songs from Apple Music, Spotify, and news articles from different reputable sources. You can access these extensions by opening a conversation and tapping the add sign in the left corner.

Do away with previews

If you have notifications showing after you’ve locked your phone, it’s always a good idea to stop the app from displaying your content in these notifications. You don’t anyone to see your private chats when you’ve left your phone on the table. You can remove previews by going to settings and unchecking the Notifications Previews function.

Add nicknames on Facebook Messenger

You probably have a lot of friends who have nicknames that are not related to their actual names on social media platforms. You can also have friends who’ve changed their names but you always remember their old names. To avoid confusion, you can use the app’s nickname feature to remind you about these people. All you have to do is open a chat, click or tap their name and you’ll have the option of adding a nickname.

Share your location

You can easily let your friends know where you are anytime. All you have to do is start chatting with them. After opening the chat, you’ll see four dots in the left corner towards the bottom. Once you’ve chosen a location, your friend will get a map that shows where you are. While there have been strong arguments about privacy and revealing location, you can always delete this data from the app whenever you want.

Play basketball

You can play a quick game of basketball with an acquaintance. To do this, you need to send them a basketball emoji and tap on the message. Once this is done, all you have to do is swipe to start playing. If you miss the hoop, the game will end and the score tallied. It will then be sent to your friend so that they can beat it. It’s one of the best games that has been integrated into the system by Facebook.

Conclusion

These are some of the best-hidden features on Facebook Messenger. What are you going to try out today while chatting with your friends?

Author Bio:

Sherri Carrier is a professional writer at A-writer.com, thesis writing services and research paper writing service. She is also a member of several writing clubs in New York. She has been writing her own poems since she was a child. The young author gets inspiration from her favourite writers and people whom she loves.