Despite the many issues with Facebook, it’s still one of the most popular social media platforms out there. Their Messenger app in particular still has a lot of loyal users. So any new feature added through an update is almost always welcome, as long as it’s not a major thing that messes up the app’s general rhythm. This week’s feature drop includes new chat themes to liven up your conversations, a quick replay bar for the media viewer, and a QR code with payment links for those in the U.S.
New Messenger chat themes are always a source of excitement for those who spend a lot of time on the app. For this batch, you have an Olivia Rodrigo theme to celebrate the release of her album Sour so fans can have her face stickers to play around with. The World Oceans Day chat theme is more educational as it promotes sustainability and lets you virtually explore oceans. The F9 theme is for fans of the Fast and the Furious series to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the saga and the latest movie coming out.
When you’re viewing a photo or video on Messenger, you usually have to exit the viewer and go back to the chat to react. The update brings you a Quick Reply Bar onto the viewer itself. Just tap on the photo or video and then send a reply or reaction through the bar at the bottom. Too bad, you can only send a text or emoji or another photo to respond to that. Then just swipe up to exit the media viewer to go back to your chat thread.
Messenger users in the US will now be able to send or request money on Facebook Pay through QR codes and payment links. Go to your Messenger settings and Facebook Pay to share the payment link or let contacts scan your QR code. Of course you need to have a card or Paypal account to be able to transact but at least you don’t need a separate payment app if your transactions are being made through Messenger.
The chat themes are now available for all users while the quick reply bar is not yet available for all users. The QR code and payment link for Facebook Pay will only be available for US Messenger users.
