20 tips and hidden functions for Facebook Messenger
In recent months, more and more users are turning away from Facebook in favor of other platforms. But many people keep a profile on the social network, sometimes emptying it of its data, to continue using Messenger instant messaging. Because it is clear that the Facebook messaging application is as practical as it is effective. It allows you to keep in touch with old friends without having to ask them for their phone number, but above all makes it easier to hold group conversations.
As simple as it is, Messenger contains many secrets and hidden functions. Here’s everything you need to know to master Facebook messaging like a pro.
1. Activate Dark Mode
For several months now, more and more developers have offered dark themes for their applications and websites. In addition to reducing eye strain, especially in poorly lit environments, using a dark theme can save your smartphone’s battery life if it has an OLED display.
To enjoy it on iOS as on Android, open Messenger, and tap on your profile picture at the top left. An option Dark mode should then be available. Activate it to immediately switch the messaging interface from white to black.
2. Temporarily turn off notifications
While Messenger is very handy for taking part in group conversations with your friends, the notifications received with each message can quickly become annoying. Never mind, Messenger offers an option to temporarily cut off the whistle.
On iOS and Android, open Messenger then slide your finger to the left on the chat you want to silence. Then tap the bell icon and choose how long you want to mute the conversation.
On the web, open the conversation, click on the cogwheel icon and choose to Mute the conversation.
Once again, you will be asked to choose a duration during which no notification will be sent for this conversation. Then validate by clicking on Mute.
3. Leave a conversation
While very convenient, group chats can sometimes become overwhelming when it comes to notifications. To avoid this, it is possible to mute the conversation, as seen in the previous step, but you can also choose to leave it permanently if you no longer want to contribute.
To do this, on iOS and Android, enter the conversation and tap on the group name to access the settings. Scroll through all the options offered and press Leave the discussion (iOS) or Leave the group (Android).
On Messenger online, go to the conversation options and just click on Leave the group.
4. Reply to a specific message in a conversation.
The more people there are in a group conversation, the more difficult it becomes to follow and respond to the various messages posted. However, there is a way on Messenger to respond directly to a specific message within a conversation.
On iOS and Android, open a conversation, and drag the message you want to reply to to the right. The reply field should automatically include the message you are about to reply to.
From the Messenger web interface, place the mouse cursor next to the message to which you want to reply, click on the three small dots then on Reply. Again, the reply field should automatically include the message you are replying to.
5. Deactivate your online status
You keep a Facebook window open to view your feed but don’t want your contacts to know you’re online. It is quite possible to appear offline, both on smartphone and on PC.
On iOS and Android, open Messenger, tap your profile picture to access the app settings, then enter the menu Status Online to turn off the option.
From Facebook, click on the icon representing a toothed wheel displayed in the area dedicated to Messenger, and select Disable Online Status.
6. Share your location with a loved one
Messenger’s mobile applications, both iOS and Android, include an option to share your location in real time. Very practical, this function will allow, for example, a relative to follow you on a map during a trip that you make alone on foot.
To activate it, enter a conversation, press the button to access the options represented by a + or four dots to the left of the input field, go to the tab Location represented by an arrow, and press the button Share my location.
Natively, your location will be shared for a period of 60 minutes. However, you can end it at any time by pressing Do not share my current location anymore.
7. Delete a message sent in error
Have you just sent a message by mistake to the wrong recipient on Messenger? Don’t panic, it is entirely possible to delete the messages you send on Messenger. There are, however, several scenarios.
To delete a message in Messenger on iOS and Android, tap and hold the message to bring up the options. If it is possible to react to the message with a smiley, you can especially choose to Remove in the options bar displayed above the keyboard.
From the web version of Messenger, hover over the message with the mouse and click on the options button represented by three small dots and click on Remove.
If the message just sent has not yet been read by the recipient, you can delete the message from the conversation for you and the recipient.
On the other hand, if the message has already been read by the recipient, it can only be deleted in your conversation and will remain displayed in that of the recipient.
8. Open Messenger without Facebook on your PC
Chatting on Messenger from a PC does not necessarily require opening a Facebook window. Messenger is accessible from a dedicated URL, messenger.com, which automatically opens instant messaging in full screen in the browser, without the social network navigation bar visible when you click on See all in Messenger when you deploy the appropriate menu from Facebook.
Chat in Messenger (Free)
9. Share documents
Let’s be honest, sharing documents in Messenger might not be the best idea in the world.
However, if you have no other means at hand, Facebook instant messaging will make it very easy for you to send any document (PDF, Word, etc.) to a loved one.
From your PC, log into the online version of Messenger and simply drag and drop your file into the conversation window. Press the Enter key on the keyboard to confirm sending the file.
10. Make audio and video calls
Rather than sending messages to each other, why not just call each other in audio or video directly from Messenger?
If this is nothing new, these functions still seem little used within the messaging system. Main advantage, if your friends do not use the same video calling applications as you (FaceTime on iPhone, Google Duo, or WhatsApp), you will necessarily be able to reach them using Messenger.
11. Play in Messenger
We don’t just chat in Messenger, we can also play it. From the web or mobile version, Facebook’s instant messaging lets you compete against your friends in various games.
Open a conversation on your smartphone, then next to the keyboard, tap the options button next to the input field, tap Games, then Start playing. You can then choose from dozens of games to face your interlocutor.
In the same way from Messenger on the web, enter a conversation and click on the button representing a gamepad, displayed next to the chat field.
12. Disable message preview
What’s more annoying than the preview of a Facebook conversation that pops up on your locked screen in front of a banned pair of eyes? To avoid this kind of situation, you can change the notification configuration of the app so that the previews of received messages are no longer displayed.
On iOS, this setting is not made from the application, but directly in the settings of the iPhone. Open them Settings, then in the menu Notifications, access the options of Messenger. Then enter the menu Show previews, and choose Never.
On Android, open Messenger, go to the app options by tapping on your profile picture at the top left, then enter the menu Sounds and notifications. Disable the option Notification previews.
In addition, if you wish to deactivate the conversation bubbles which appear permanently on Android, simply go to the Messenger notifications preferences and deactivate the option. Active chat bubbles.
13. Activate data saver on Android
Messenger’s Android application includes an option to save your mobile data.
To take advantage of it, enter the messaging options by pressing your profile picture, enter the menu Data saver, and activate the option.
Once in place, the photos and videos you receive on Messenger are not automatically downloaded if you are not connected to Wi-Fi. You will have to press them to start their repatriation before being able to view them.
14. Encrypt your conversations
Few users know the option, but Messenger has a built-in function Secret conversations. You will find it by going to the options of the application and then entering the menu Secret conversations.
Your messages will then be end-to-end encrypted and you can decide, if you wish, to delete them or have them disappear automatically after a defined period of time.
To work, the option must be activated on your smartphone as well as on the recipient’s device.
15. Give your contacts a nickname
The names of your friends can, if you wish, be changed in conversations. Messenger allows you to enter a nickname to replace the full name of your loved ones with whom you are chatting.
From the iOS or Android application, open a conversation and tap the name of the person you are talking to to access the options. Then enter the menu Nicknames, and press in turn on each of the participants’ names to assign them a nickname.
On the web interface, open a conversation, open the Options of it and click on Nicknames. Then click on each participant to define a new nickname to replace their full name.
16. Search for a message in a conversation
Rather than tracing the whole thread of a conversation to find a specific message, it is possible to search for it directly. This requires opening the …
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