Facebook Messenger

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on Facebook Messenger:

Facebook will discontinue Messenger app for Apple Watch on May 31

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Have you been too hard on Apple Watch Series 7?
Facebook Messenger's Apple Watch app will exit the App Store on May 31, 2023.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Meta is reportedly killing its Messenger app for Apple Watch at the end of this month. The company is informing users about this impending change through a notification inside its apps.

Despite the axing of the Messenger app for Apple Watch, you’ll continue to receive notifications for new messages. But you cannot reply to them. For that, you’ll have to use the app on your iPhone.

Facebook Messenger adds a bunch of handy, Slack-like shortcuts

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Facebook Messenger shortcuts
It's now easier to send silent messages, GIFs, payments, and more.
Image: Meta

Facebook Messenger? Meta Messenger? Just Messenger? We don’t know what it’s supposed to be called these days. But we do know it just added a bunch of useful, Slack-like shortcuts that help you get things done faster.

You can use them to silently deliver messages without notifications, to find the perfect GIF, to send payments and more — all without having to fiddle around inside menus. And Meta says even more are coming later this year.

Play god. Drive safe. Flip birds. Search secret. [Awesome Apps of the Week]

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Apple Arcade delivers blasts from the past, but there's new stuff in the App Store this week as well.
Apple Arcade delivers updated blasts from the past, but there's totally new stuff in the App Store this week as well.
Image: Cult of Mac

Some classic iOS games got upgraded for their Apple Arcade debuts this week, but that’s just the start of this week’s roundup. A new iOS app gives you the chance to win prizes for not driving like a jerk. And a new Mac app lets you effortlessly declutter your presentations.

Plus, a couple of heavy-hitter apps got updates — one kind of serious from a privacy perspective, and one almost completely frivolous. Are you ready for your app upgrades?

How to send Soundmojis in Facebook Messenger

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Amp up your emoji game with Soundmojis in Facebook Messenger.
Amp up your emoji game with Soundmojis in Facebook Messenger.
Image: Facebook

Emoji just got a sonic boost in Facebook Messenger. The social network’s chat app added Soundmojis on Thursday, giving users the option of sending audio snippets with some key emoji.

At launch, you can send catchphrases from TV shows, bits of hit songs, and garden-variety stock sounds. If your conversation demands the world’s tiniest violin emoji, your chat partner can actually hear it!

Beeper app promises to bring iMessage to Android and Windows

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Beeper brings iMessage to Android and Windows
15 different chat platforms in one.
Photo: Beeper

Beeper is a new all-in-one chat app that merges 15 different platforms into one. That sounds pretty interesting already, but what makes Beeper really exciting is its promise to put iMessage on Android and Windows.

The app, from Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky and his team, is “using some trickery” to make the impossible possible. But you’ll have to cough up a monthly subscription fee if you want to take advantage of it.

Facebook Messenger’s Zoom competitor gets custom backdrops, tweaked UI

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Messenger Rooms
Can Facebook's answer to Zoom triumph?
Photo: Facebook Messenger Rooms

Whether it’s socially distanced family quizzes, interminable work meetings or virtual conferences, video chat apps are big business in 2020.

Not wanting to be left out of the surge of popularity enjoyed by Zoom and Google Meets, Facebook is updating its video chat competitor Messenger Rooms app. The update makes it easier to find Rooms you’ve been invited to, to arrange future meetings, and to use custom backdrops of your choosing.

How to lock down Facebook Messenger with Face ID or Touch ID

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Add Face ID or Touch ID to Facebook Messenger for maximum security.
Take this simple precaution to keep your chats private.
Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

Facebook Messenger’s new App Lock feature lets you add an extra layer of security to the popular chat app. iPhone and iPad users can switch on Face ID or Touch ID so they never need to worry about anybody seeing their messages.

The previously rumored feature, which Facebook rolled out for iOS devices Wednesday, is easy to enable. Plus, you can tweak a setting to make sure App Lock works ideally for you. Here’s all you need to do to turn on Face ID or Touch ID for Facebook Messenger.

Facebook Messenger Rooms can handle calls with up to 50 people in US

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facebook.messenger.rooms
Facebook Messenger Rooms allows users to host video calls of up to 50 people free of charge.
Photo: Facebook

Facebook took on Zoom and FaceTime Thursday by enabling its new video-calling service, Messenger Rooms, to make free calls between as many as 50 people.

The feature was announced last month, and is available now is the US and Canada. It’ll be rolled out globally next week, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Facebook Messenger Kids expands its reach, adds new features

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Facebook-Messenger-Kids
Download it from the App Store today.
Photo: Facebook

Facebook Messenger Kids, the free chat app designed specifically for your little ones, on Wednesday expanded its reach to more than 70 new markets and added a number of helpful new features.

It’s now possible for parents to give kids control over their contacts (if they wish), and for kids to join approved groups. The changes come at a time when many children are out of school and unable to see friends.

Facebook’s brand-new Messenger app available to all on Mac

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Facebook-Messenger-Mac
Grab it now from the Mac App Store.
Photo: Facebook

The all-new Facebook Messenger app for macOS made its official Mac App Store debut on Thursday at a perfect time for those working and interacting more from home.

Messenger for the desktop first appeared in early March, almost a year after Facebook announced it at its F8 conference, but was then on offer in only a handful of countries. It is now open to all — and free to download.

Facebook Messenger has a brand-new app for Mac

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Facebook-Messenger-Mac
It's finally here, almost a year after it was confirmed.
Photo: Mac Generation

A brand-new Facebook Messenger app has finally landed on Mac. It gives users the ability to more easily keep on top of their conversations across different devices, and it supports a whole host of useful Messenger features — including group video chat.

You might not be able to download it where you live just yet, however.

Facebook Messenger for iOS goes light and fast

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Facebook Messenger video chat includes augmented reality.
Not all of the silly features were stripped out of Facebook Messenger.
Photo: Facebook

Facebook shrunk the size of its Messenger app, and stripped out some features, intending to make it faster to load and simpler to navigate.

Some of the missing features will be back, though.

Facebook Messenger could protect your messages with Face ID

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Face ID
An extra layer of protection for your messages.
Photo: Apple

Facebook Messenger could soon add Face ID support to protect your conversations from nosy neighbors.

The feature would prevent access to Messenger until it is first unlocked with your face. It seems like a useful addition to the app for the security-conscious, but it’s still in development for now.

Apple forces popular VoIP apps to be rewritten to protect user privacy

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Facebook Messenger on an iPad
Facebook Messenger is fun, chatty... and always running in the background whether you’re using it or not. Always.
Photo: Facebook

A change in iOS 13 that limits what applications can do when running in the background will force a rewrite of Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and other apps that offer voice calls.

While these developers will be inconvenienced, the goal is to increase the battery lives and performance of all iOS devices. The change will also make iPhones and iPads more secure.

Facebook Messenger now lets you unsend messages, but be quick!

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Facebook Messenger unsend
It’s about time!
Photo: Facebook

Facebook Messenger is finally giving users the ability to unsend messages.

The feature had previously been exclusive to Facebook executives, but now it’s rolling out to everyone in the latest version of the app. You’ll have to act fast to remove accidental messages, though — and don’t think that you’ll be able to completely hide your tracks.

Zuckerberg explains benefits of WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger merger

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facebook-logo-file
It won’t happen until 2020 at the earliest.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed plans to merge WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger — but says it probably won’t happen until 2020 at the earliest.

In a fourth-quarter earnings call this week, Zuckerberg also explained the reasons behind the plan, such as increased security with end-to-end encryption. Many questions still remain unanswered, however.

How Facebook Messenger ‘unsend’ feature works

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And you thought all those Facebook messages were secret. Sucker!
You can unsend a message, but you can’t make people unsee it.
Photo: kropekk_pl/Pixabay CC

There was a lot of confusion after Facebook revealed last week that users would soon be able to unsend comments made in Messenger. With this feature starting to roll out, the details of how it will work have come to light.

Turns out it’s not a magic wand that will let you take back what you just said to your now ex-girlfriend.