Considering that Facebook owns a bunch of social media-related products and services, it’s not surprising that the company would want them to synchronize with each other on some level. In fact at some point there was a bit of controversy as Facebook wanted WhatsApp to share their user data with them.
One of the nifty features that we’re seeing Google roll out to its services is smart replies, where based on the context, Google can offer up smart replies that you can fire off at a tap of a button. This feature has been introduced to Google products such as Gmail, and now it looks like Gboard will be getting it as well.
Every now and then Facebook sends users notifications on Messenger where it prompts them that someone they know has joined Facebook. We suppose it’s a friendly reminder in case there are old friends that you wanted to message, although admittedly for the most part these notifications tend to be more annoying than anything.
We’ve seen Facebook roll out the Stories feature across pretty much all of its platforms, such as Facebook itself, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Now it looks like Facebook is bringing more features from Instagram over to Messenger, such as the ability to post a poll on your Stories in Messenger.
Augmented reality seems to be pretty popular at the moment where we’ve seen companies like Apple, Google, and Snap take advantage of it to boost their offerings. This is also why it doesn’t come as a surprise to learn that Facebook is also looking to leverage the technology as well for its Messenger platform.
Facebook Messenger has definitely evolved over the years since its first inception where it existed as an in-app messaging system for Facebook. The company eventually spun it out to exist on its own where they included a bunch of features to it, such as games, Stories, and even the ability for users to send money to each other.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that adults spend so much time buried in their phones and computers, Facebook decided to launch Messenger for Kids where it provides a way for kids to keep in touch with each other, at least through Facebook’s platform. The good news for parents is that Facebook has recently introduced a new feature that should help manage your kid’s time on the platform.
facebook logoSo we know that Facebook has a Messenger designed for kids but apparently their interest in developing more products for kids has not ended there. According to a report from TNW, it seems that the social network is trialing out High School Networks for Messenger, which apparently is a Slack-like communications platform designed for high schools.
Facebook’s data privacy scandal is far from over, but it looks like the company has revealed a practice which has ruffled some feathers, namely how the messages, photos, and links you send over its Messenger platform are scanned. This was revealed during an interview with Vox’s Ezra Klein (via Bloomberg).
Group chats can get unwieldy especially if you have a lot of people in the group. It gets even messier when there are no admin controls where users can add other users whenever they please. However the good news for Facebook Messenger users is that it looks like that platform is gaining new group admin tools.
While sending emails to companies is still a valid way to get in touch with customer service, a new way that companies are interacting with their customers these days is through the use of social media, such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, where customers can reach reps by messaging them directly.
By now it seems that Facebook has no qualms when it comes to copying some of Snapchat’s features. The company already borrowed features like Stories and brought it to apps like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook, and now it looks like Facebook wants to borrow some augmented reality (AR) features as well.