Facebook Messenger

How many times have we wondered how to contact a relative or friend from high school who has moved abroad? Nowadays, this problem can be easily solved thanks to services like Messenger, which keeps millions of people around the world connected and allows them to communicate with their friends and loved ones.

There are lots of online messaging services available, which means users get to choose from many alternatives. Therefore, it can be difficult to decide which one to use. In this article, you will find all the information you need to find out if Messenger adapts to your needs.

All you can do with Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger is a messaging app launched by Facebook in 2011. It has a wide variety of options and ways to share messages and content among its users, making it an excellent option for them to communicate through different devices.

This app is one of the most popular worldwide. It allows users to send messages, make calls, and even post photos and videos in story format with its “Messenger Day” function. In addition, it has certain security measures such as end-to-end encryption in conversations and a filter to restrict who you can receive messages from.

Basic features — and some very innovative ones

Throughout the years, Messenger has been configured to adapt to the trends and utilities that are found in the most popular apps, which has led to the addition of features such as:

1. Calls: the calling options were originally only allowed in a select group of countries. Over the years, the developers have been introducing new features such as group calls, video calls up to 50 participants and practical options such as being able to take screenshots during a call or to add filters to the camera.
2. Messenger Pay: the app allows users to request and/or send money, and it also offers support for group payments.
3. Bots platform: the API offered by Facebook to create chats with bots has allowed companies to generate customer service tools. It has also allowed transportation companies to have an extra way to make changes, register check-ins and notify users.

Facebook Messenger is available on almost all devices as it is compatible with Android, IOS, different versions of Windows and macOS. For those who don’t want to download an app, there is also the possibility of accessing it from the web browser.

Free equals ads

Like most free platforms, Facebook Messenger contains ads. These can be found on the main screen between conversations, as well as appearing in between the stories of the people you follow. This large number of ads can be very annoying for users, as it interrupts their use of the app.

About the app privacy

One of the aspects that has caused the most conflict among Messenger users is the inability to disconnect from the app. Messenger only lets you choose between different states of availability, such as: "Appear as inactive", “Disable notifications”, or the option to switch accounts.

Despite this, some improvements have been made to benefit the privacy of users. One of the most relevant changes introduced is the end-to-end encryption, which prevents the platform itself from accessing your private messages.

My take on Facebook Messenger

Messenger holds a considerable share in the messaging segment, and I personally believe that it is a result of it being directly associated with Facebook, but also because of its wide variety of features and user conveniences.

One of the most innovative, in my opinion, is the possibility to send messages between different platforms, allowing users to interact with Instagram chats via Messenger.

This app is completely dedicated to the user experience, and I can appreciate this in many aspects such as the interface, the technical support and the wide variety of utilities.