Facebook has declared a lot of new messaging features for Messenger and Instagram. There are two new chat themes, hands-free audio recording, new seen status, and more. Facebook blended Instagram and Messenger a year ago in October. This brought all the Messenger features to Instagram and cross-platform messaging.
Messenger and Instagram users would now be able to try two new chat themes – Star Wars and Netflix’s Selena: The Series. The new subject can be enacted from the visit settings under ‘Topic’. Proceeding onward to the new feature, Instagram users would now be able to send a visual reply in DMs. This feature is now accessible in Stories, and it allows users to send an answer with another photograph or video. It’s starting first on iOS, and it will come to Android soon.
Facebook has also made it easier to send audio messages on Messenger. You can now simply tap the microphone button and record your message hands free. Facebook said it will launch this feature on Instagram soon. In the meantime, Instagram users can check if their messages have been read. Instagram now shows if and when your message has been “seen”. For example, it will show if your message was “seen now” or “seen 7h ago”. This would replace the active status that Instagram would show in DMs.
On Messenger, Facebook has presented “swipe to file” so users can easily be archived chats. There’s also a new ‘Archived Chats’ folder on Messenger so users can find all their archived chats in one place. Facebook has also rolled out camera stickers representing the Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) community. These stickers can be used on Messenger and Messenger Kids.
