It’s well documented in the social media sphere that not a lot of people are particularly fond of Facebook’s ‘unnecessary’ messaging stepchild. From various parts of the app crashing to those insufferable comment bubbles that keep getting in the way, users just didn’t take to it, resulting in it either playing second fiddle to Whatsapp or perhaps worse yet, their own default Facebook application.
But it finally seems like they’re stepping their game up. This time adding a plethora of exclusive features to their Messenger video chat, including animated reactions and filters to full on Snapchat-esque masks and effects. While they’re not the first to introduce the augmented reality masks, they are the first to do so in live chat.
Users can choose from five Messenger emoji icons from love, laughter, surprise, sadness or anger, which animate on screen and then disappear; choose from a set of Instagram-like filters and the aforementioned augmented reality masks.
To top it off, they’ve added the ability to take screenshots as well, allowing you to save all those cool effects straight to your camera roll. All functions are available for one-to-one and group chats.
Perhaps this marks a turning point for the often maligned app? Take it out for a spin and let us know your thoughts.