New functions are being rolled out to Facebook Messenger, including reactions to messages and photos sent via the app, and the ability to bring users into conversations with mentions. The idea is to make group chats more fun and more intuitive.
Facebook Messenger's new "reactions" let users acknowledge and react to messages (text, image, video) with emotions symbolised by emojis. In fact, the idea comes straight from the Facebook social network, where users can already react to status updates and posts with a "like" or a "heart," for example. One key difference is that the Messenger reactions include a thumbs-down, or "dislike" button, still not available on the social network despite widespread demand.