Facebook Messenger has received a new update that keeps moving it towards becoming the best messaging app available on the planet.
The new changes are part of a major Messenger update that is aimed at giving the more than 900 million people from all over the world who use this application a much better experience that is more suited to their day to day needs. We have seen the rise of bots in Messenger, which are basically in-apps that are powered by artificial intelligence and they operate from within the main Messenger app.
In the latest update, the VP of Facebook messaging products, David Marcus, says that it has everything to do with reinventing the inbox of the chat app. While the update has been announced, it will be rolled out gradually during the week until all users of the app eventually get hold of the reinvented inbox.
The changes
In the newly updated Facebook Messenger, users will now see an inbox interface that features a Favorites section. This is a section where users can easily find the contacts of the people they regularly chat with. In the previous version, this group is usually found together with the rest of the Active Now contacts. The new update will also see birthday reminders added to the messaging service and not just on the main Facebook Home Page as it has been the case.
According to Marcus, the major reason of reinventing the inbox is to ensure that users have the most relevant content delivered to them based on their individual characteristics. This will be possible with the help of a new algorithm that will allow Facebook to determine the best content a user needs to see first.
Facebook Messenger also received SMS integration that allows users to read and reply their SMS messages right from within the Messenger app. This is the same thing that Google does with its Hangouts app, where it can be integrated with the default SMS service and all messages – SMS and Hangouts – are displayed in one app.