Review by Charlotte Smith
5

Messenger is an app that lets you chat via text, voice, and video. Stickers and Secret Conversations make it one of the best apps for messaging. It syncs Facebook contacts, allowing you to call friends even if they don't have their phone number saved to their device.

Long List of Features

The list of features is huge and is constantly getting longer, so let's go through the main ones:

  1. Top-notch photo and video capture. You can launch your phone's camera to capture the media in a second.
  2. Video chat works smoothly; you just press the blue icon and voila.
  3. When in a conversation, you can play mini-games. The list is long and includes all popular time killers.
  4. If you're trying to meet up with friends, the location-sharing feature may be useful.

If you have a commercial account, you can include a personalized greeting to show up when a client opens the app to message you.

Streamlined User Interface

Messenger has a minimalistic layout with the ability to swipe left and right to see settings, contacts and recent conversations. The Chat Heads feature allows you to have chats outside of the app. A little icon next to a contact tells you their chat status. The blue icon means they're signed in. The grey icon means they aren't signed into Messenger. A separate list displays people who are online right now.

You can create a group and share content with an unlimited number of people. Users can see when their messages have been viewed. Notifications can be turned off, otherwise, your phone will vibrate when you receive a message.

Privacy Concerns

Messenger can work in a Secret Conversation mode. Messages you send in this mode are encrypted end-to-end. They can only be read on the device that receives them. Of course, law enforcement with a court order can still read these messages. Other than that, your conversations are secured. Messenger also uses Signal technology to protect itself against hackers.

Conclusion

Combined with a huge user base, it's hard to justify not having Messenger installed. Backgrounds and effects add a nice touch to the app. The screen broadcasting feature allows participants to share their screens and have fun group conversations. Overall, this is a very versatile app.

Highlights

  • Chat with Facebook friends;
  • Send stickers and GIFs;
  • Invite friends to group chats;
  • Your data is safe.