Facebook Messenger update radically simplifies the popular chat app
Facebook has announced a major overhaul of its Messenger app aimed at simplifying the chat service’s user interface and experience.
The Facebook Messenger 4 update will see everything in the app housed under one of three tabs: Chats, People and Discover. These will live at the bottom of your screen when the app is open and represent some serious decluttering, as previous Messenger builds featured no less than NINE tabs.
Chats will surface recent messages and Stories from your friends, while People looks fairly familiar and shows the people you know that are currently online and available to chat. Discover is probably the ‘newest’ thing about the new-look Facebook Messenger and is a one-stop-shop for everything from playing games to interacting with businesses and organisations.
Overall, the Messenger 4 looks a lot cleaner and brighter, even if the overall colour scheme retains the white background of previous versions. There’s also now the option of infusing your chats with colour gradients, as well as enabling a ‘dark mode’ to reduce glare.
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Facebook said it will be rolling out the Messenger 4 update “in phases” over the coming weeks, with Chudnovsky noting that, “it can take time to get used to changes in an app you rely on every day” – a quiet nod to the Snapchat update that was so ill-received earlier in the year, perhaps.
“In a recent Messenger study, 7 out of 10 (71%) people told us simplicity is the top priority for them in a messaging app. We believe Messenger 4 delivers the closeness and authenticity that you’ve been asking for — through simplicity of design and powerful features that put the focus back on messaging and connecting,” commented Stan Chudnovsky, VP of Messenger at Facebook.
We’ll let you know as soon as we spot the update available to download in the UK.
Let us know if you’ve tried the new Facebook update on Twitter @TrustedReviews.