How to Customize Reactions on Facebook Messenger
Facebook just updated their messaging apps, which you probably realized when you saw the vibrant updated logo with a purple ombre . The cute new look is more of a precursor than anything else: Facebook Messenger will soon be integrated with Instagram, and you will be able to chat with friends on both platforms, no matter which app you use.
Whether you love it, hate it, or are already about to leave the comment “The real hack is to log out of Facebook, you moron” on this post, there are actually a few tiny Messenger changes worth knowing about while you wait for Facebook quirkiness to become shapes and absorbs everything it touches. The first and most important thing is to get rid of the ugly “thumbs up” reaction.
How to create a list of custom reactions on Facebook Messenger
You are no longer bound by several different emojis to react to comments made in your chats. Press and hold on something that someone said and you will see a new popup:
Tap the “+” sign to display the entire list of one-time reaction emoticons. If you want to replace any of the defaults on the regular “reaction lane”, click “Customize”. Click on an emoji in the panel to select it, and then click on an emoji from the giant list to replace it. I suggest starting with the thumb up.
How to enable new chat topics in Facebook Messenger
Start a conversation, tap a name (or list of names) at the top and tap Subject to choose from all kinds of different color variations for your conversation, including a brand new Halloween theme. Oooooh.
How to make a Facebook sticker of your face
Soon you will be able to create a whimsical hybrid of yourself inside a sticker with effects that you can overlay on top of yourself. This feature hasn’t been launched yet, but here’s an idea of what it will look like when it appears:
How to Send Saucy Messages and Pictures with Fade Mode
I can’t access this feature on Messenger yet, but Facebook is also rolling out a new Disappear mode that you can use to create disappearing private chat messages. They get frustrated after the other person in your chat has viewed them, and they have to work with both text and images. (Yes, I know what you are thinking.)
This is similar to the Secret Conversations already built into Messenger, but with a much simpler implementation. You just swipe up in chat to switch to fade mode instead of creating a separate secret conversation, setting rules for how long you want your messages to stay, and so on. Think about it more for … secret messages.