Facebook Messenger adds reactions and mentions for better group chats

Just when you thought messaging apps couldn’t possibly add anymore features, Facebook is proving us wrong with a new update to Messenger. The update really makes you wonder what other messaging apps are doing with their time when Messenger is so embarrassingly ahead of the competition.

First up are reactions. Messenger now allows you to react to someone’s message — whether it’s text, a link, or other types of media — rather than sending the obligatory “LOL” or emoji. It’s pretty much how the Facebook mobile app works, with options for love, laugh, surprise, sadness, anger, and thumbs up/down. Users will receive notifications when a message has been reacted upon the same as anything else and it should help keep chats cleaner with less chatter.

The other much needed feature headed to Messenger is one that every messaging app should launch with by default: mentions. The worst part about starting a group chat is that either you receive notifications from all messages in the chat, or none of them. With Messenger’s new mentions, you can mute the chat and still receive a notification when someone mentions you specifically with @username. Of course, there’s still additional options if you want to turn this off, so you’re not being forced into anything.

The update is already rolling out on both Android and iOS, although only reactions seem to be working properly for us. We’re sure Facebook is still working out the kinks, in the meantime you try it for yourself inside the app. For those that haven’t tried Facebook Messenger, there’s no better time than right now. Download it for free via the link below.