Look, Facebook Messenger is great for sending messages to your friends, but if that’s all you’re using it for, you’re seriously missing out.
Over the past few years, Messenger’s lineup of features has beefed up a ton. It’s an all-in-one platform these days, teeming with games, chatbots, productivity features, and more.
At the beginning of the year, Facebook rolled out its buzzed-about redesign:
It gave the once overcrowded app a clean, fresh-looking interface. Now, some of the coolest features are hidden behind a four-dot icon.
Whether you’re new to Messenger or haven’t ventured beyond the dots, here are some features and tricks to know:
1. Use Messenger without an account
Facebook Messenger can work without Facebook? Well, yeah.
Hey, we get it, Facebook isn’t everyone’s thing. Many of us grapple with breaking up with FB, and a few actually go through with it.
Still, if all your friends are group messaging on Facebook without you, you don’t need to reactivate to join the thread.
Instead, download the app. When you get to the log-in screen, say you don’t have an account. From there, you can register your account with a phone number and use it to sign in.
2. Send money to your pals
There’s no shortage of mobile payment apps, so this whole cashless revolution thing is old news at this point. However, hitting up your friends for money or paying them back for last night’s drinks no longer means you have to leave Facebook.
Add your debit card or PayPal account to Messenger by tapping your photo at the top of the app, then selecting “payments.” There, you can link the account of your choosing, along with a PIN or fingerprint for a layer of security.
To send or request money, all you do is choose the dollar sign next to the text field, fill in the amount, then add your payment information.
3. Add extensions to your chat
Facebook Messenger extensions are third-party apps that connect to your account. This way, you can access apps through your open chat window. You can also share articles, playlists, and more with your contacts.
Here, you’ll find games, apps like Spotify, OpenTable, Kayak, or The Wall Street Journal.
Want to make your friends a mixtape? Log into Spotify and share your picks through Messenger.
You’ll need to link your accounts (i.e. log into Spotify using your Facebook credentials).
4. Create Stories
Yep, just like Snapchat, Instagram, and now, even LinkedIn, Facebook lets you tell your story through videos and filters.
The app has a feature called My Day, which allows you to add videos and photos to your “day feed.” You can share moments with your friends. Like Instagram and Snapchat, FB’s version expires after 24 hours.
5. Encrypted conversations
If you’re wary of how social media channels are stealing all of our data, you’re not alone.
But you don’t have to switch to Signal or WhatsApp to chat off the grid. Instead, Messenger allows you to encrypt from right inside the app. Messenger actually uses Signal protocol here to ensure that only you and the other person can see the message. Not even FB can read your messages.
To turn on Secret Conversations, all you need to do is, tap the little “I” at the top of the screen and select “go to Secret Conversation.”
There is a caveat — no group chats allowed. Secret Conversations are limited to one-on-one convos only.
6. Send files
Sending files is something you can do with all sorts of platforms these days, but the beauty of messenger lies in its multifunctionality. The chat app supports multiple types of files, so you can easily send friends photos, PDFs, or Word Docs without clicking around multiple tabs. Sure, FB’s file sharing feature isn’t groundbreaking, but sometimes these little timesavers are a real gift.
7. Dark Mode
Dark mode was one of the most requested features for Messenger, and now our nighttime dreams have become a reality. Some users believe that dark mode reduces the eye strain that comes from looking at a bright white screen for hours on end. Others just think the inverted color scheme looks cool. Google says that activating dark mode preserves battery life on Android phones.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to activate dark mode on Messenger.
In summary
Messenger’s hidden tips and tricks can help you make the most of the messaging service. Although some of us have our issues with the big FB, Messenger’s free service keeps us coming back.