Facebook seems to be hell bent on making you not leave its Messenger app at all by putting in all sorts of features like online shopping and fund transfers and hotel reservations and even making it easier to share stuff with your friends. And now, they’re adding a new feature that will make it even more seamless and convenient for you to go about your normal life: the ability to book your transportation straight from the Messenger.
With this new feature from Facebook, you’ll be able to request and book a car from the Messenger, and you don’t even have to download an extra app to do so. You also don’t need to even leave the conversation you’re having with the person you’re going to meet (or even if the person you’re talking to doesn’t have anything to do with your travel plans).
Once you’ve updated the Messenger app, then start a conversation. And from within that convo, click the more menu then choose Transportation. Another way would be to search for Uber, who is actually their first and only partner so far, from the connected apps in the Messenger and then request a ride from there. You can also track his progress, share your route with friends, and of course pay for your ride all without leaving a conversation.
You can get a free ride from Uber by linking your existing account or even opening a new account within the Messenger. However, this is still in a selective testing phase (just like a lot of new Facebook products) within the US where Uber is available. And of course, you need to download the latest version of Messenger to try this out.
SOURCE: Facebook
All well and good. The only problem is – FB’s Messenger app was such a battery hog that I uninstalled it and never looked back. So when people send me a message I don’t reply until I’m in front of a desktop.
Then, FB app itself is slow to load and never closes unless you force it, updating it many times fail, and there is no way to remove the heads up notifications in WhatsApp, so I removed WhatsApp too and switched all my contacts to Viber.
As far a I’m concerned, FB apps suck.