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5 Facebook Messenger tricks you’ll use time and time again
Facebook Messenger is one of the world’s most popular downloads. In fact, it boasts over 1.2 billion active monthly users as of April 2017. That is no small feat, thanks to offering decent service that spans chatbots, messaging and more.
It’s hard to believe the app was first introduced back in 2011 – boy, how time flies in the messaging world! If you use Facebook, you probably already have Messenger installed on your mobile device. Yet, you probably haven’t used any of these five features yet. These are some of our absolute favorites! Continue reading to learn more.
1. Manually download data
If there is one thing many of us have experienced, it is the data bind. Sure, we want to do and see everything on our mobile devices. Yet, we just never seem to have enough data. There is still a limit on how much we can download and save on our convenient smartphones and tablets.
Well, you probably did not know that Messenger has a manual download option. You see, when you use Messenger over a mobile connection, it will automatically download sent photos and videos. As you may have already noticed, this is the easiest way to quickly run out of data.
Instead, you can tap on your profile and tap “data saver.” Now, you can decide when to download a photo or video just by tapping on the media. And, just like that, you have saved some precious data for other downloads.
2. Encrypt your chats
We all love to chat and text, even more so than we do talking on the phone. It’s so convenient to type away and insert emojis, isn’t it? It is so simple that we often forget hackers are waiting in the wings for information they can steal.
In an age where cybercrime is a billion-dollar industry, it is critical to secure our data. The good news is you can protect your chats by tapping “Secret Conversation.”
Tip within a tip: Encryption is important whether you’re using a messaging service or just browsing online. Especially, when you’re logged onto a public Wi-Fi network. That’s why we recommend you use a Virtual Private Network (VPN), every time you surf the internet. Click here and we’ll share our top picks for the best VPN services out there.
3. Change your emoji skin tone
Many of us are well-acquainted with the yellow thumbs up emoji. Did you know that you can change its skin tone? All you do is tap on your profile, then select “photos and media.” From there, tap “emoji” to pick your preferred skin tone.
It’s pretty impressive to see all the emojis change to the skin tone you select. Now, you just have to get ready for all your friends to ask how you did that!
4. Send and receive money
Who knew that you could send and receive money through Messenger? With the “Payments” option, you can transfer money to other Messenger users. Of course, you must add your bank details to utilize the feature.
Still, imagine all the uses. To illustrate you might use payments for scenarios such as:
- Pitching in for a birthday gift
- Donating to a charity
- Sending money to your kids
- Sending money to your parents
- Paying a contractor
- Sending money to someone to buy something for you on your behalf
- Making online purchases from independent retailers
5. Find out who’s ignoring you
Messenger is used for personal and business. Sometimes, you need to send a message to someone whether it is an urgent work matter or something else. It’s times like these where you have to make sure your recipient received your message.
You wait and wait, yet, no response. What’s going on? Well, similar to WhatsApp, Messenger lets you see whether someone has missed your message. You just tap on their icon to display “Seen” or “Unseen.” If it’s unseen, and the message is urgent, it might be time to make a phone call.
Bonus: Utilize third-party apps
If you’ve only used Messenger for chat, then your mind is about to be blown. It’s becoming such a standalone app that you can even integrate as many compatible apps as you like. Just tap on a contact and select the ellipsis (…). Then, you’ll see “get apps for Messenger.” Here, you will find apps such as:
- Giphy GIF
- Dropbox
- Spotify
- Bitmoji
You might be surprised with just how many third-party apps integrate with Messenger, including Words with Friends. Using apps this way also saves space on your device display.
Tags: Facebook, hackers, internet, Wi-Fi
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