Facebook Messenger is a stand-alone app that allows you to chat with your Facebook friends and send SMS and text messages to any contact on your phone. The application also allows you to make free calls to other Facebook Messenger users.
Communicate with everyone
Facebook Messenger combines friends and mobile contacts to allow for group messages, along with location-based functionality. It functions very similarly to other communication apps though, with the addition of location services. The group chat combines multiple users together and allows for messages to be collated in one window.
If you have SMS enabled, you can also use Facebook Messenger to talk with phone contacts. The application allows you to send messages to any contact in your phone, not just your Facebook friends. Facebook contacts show up with a blue bubble and SMS messages show in green. You can forward messages to people who aren't in the conversation and create shortcuts on the homescreen, as well as like messages or mute conversations straight from the notification panel.
When you are finished communicating, you just swipe the icon down and remove the notification from your screen. And don't worry if you need a break from Facebook chat or there's someone you don't want to hear from; you can turn notifications off in settings (although only for a set amount of time - for one hour until 8am in the morning).
You can also create groups to talk to more of your friends at once, which is great if you're arranging an event or trying to meet up and don't want the world to know. These groups are all in one tab and you can name them (college friends, co-workers etc).
Facebook Messenger supports stickers, including a decent range of default stickers, plus the opportunity to purchase new stickers through the store in order to brighten up your conversations.
There is also a fun feature for shooting short video messages. From within the app you can capture and play 15-second videos from your device's camera and share them with your friends in the chat. More fun is to be had with the new 'Big Likes' feature, which allows you to add even larger thumb's up stickers to your chats in Facebook Messenger.
Facebook Messenger allows you to make free calls through the app. Calls are free over WiFi, but if you're using a mobile data connection you'll need to pay the standard charges. The app only supports voice calling at the moment, so if you want to make video calls you're better off with
Simple to use thanks to Chat Heads
The interface is simple to use is and themed in the same way as the
The design of the Facebook Messenger user interface is clean and tidy. The blue of the menu icons and green of the alert messages stand out clearly against the app's white background and this understated look gives greater presence to the conversations themselves.
What's new in version 6.0?
In the latest version of Facebook Messenger, you can draw and type messages on photos you send from your gallery
The verdict
Facebook Messenger allows you to chat with your friends easily - regardless of whether they use Facebook or not.
Download Facebook Messenger 14.0.0.16.14 in