Every year, Facebook conducts F8 conference and announces new updates it is working on and that are ready to roll out. When it comes to its messaging app, Facebook Messenger 4 was introduced last year at F8 2018. A lot of exciting changes were there in the previous year with the Messenger 4 version that users loved. The updated version was as powerful as it was but became ideal and more comfortable to navigate with the previous update. It was launched with plenty of new features and improvements after being announced at the annual F8 conference.
If we talk about F8 2019, a lot of new updates for the website and app were discussed at the event. There were significant changes discussed for the Messenger as well. It is destined to be faster than ever, private, and will be focused on close friend and family primarily.
LightSpeed Messenger
Facebook has named the new messenger project as “LightSpeed.” It is because the redesigned Facebook Messenger will open in less than 2 seconds. The size of the Messenger for installing will get lesser too. It will become 70 MB lighter than the current size, which will be only 30 MB only for installation. Though, it will take some time from now to launch.
End to end encryption
Facebook will make the Messenger end to end encrypted by default as well. Users have pointed the platform for security breaches, and privacy is given utmost concern in the new Messenger app. All your messages and stories will be seen between only you and the sender – not even by Facebook – with end to end encryption.
Close friends and family
The Messenger will create a digital room and provide a dedicated space to explore content from your family and friends. From stories to pictures and videos, it will be more easy to access everything. It is not finalized how it will look like, but it seems the same as the Close Friend feature that is already available on the app.
Watch together feature
According to Facebook, approximately 410 million users use the video chat feature available on the Messenger monthly. Almost two billion minutes every day is spent by user s to watch Facebook videos. The company is trying to merge both and introduce a feature that will allow people to watch videos together on Messenger. It will create a virtual room for users where they can play favorite videos and build a better connection. You will have to select the video that you want to watch and share in the Messenger for watching together while video chats or messaging.
Dedicated desktop Messenger app
Both MacOS and Windows platform will have a particular desktop app for Messenger. It will allow you to access Messenger easily and connect with others through your Desktop Computer or Mac. All the features – such as group video calling, and more – will be available on the Desktop app in the same way. It is still being tested and will be launched around the ending of 2019.
Appointment booking system feature
Facebook Messenger consists of a large number of business users too. If we consider the numbers, there are roughly around 40 million businesses on Messenger for now. The new appointment booking system feature will be beneficial for various industry.
No specific dates are announced for launching the new Messenger, but it is said that it will arrive soon. Most of the features are under the testing start. Hence, you might practically use all of the announced features before the F8 annual conference by Facebook arrives next year!
Davis Johnson is a Microsoft Office expert and has been working in the technical industry since 2002. As a technical expert, Davis has written technical blogs, manuals, white papers, and reviews for many websites such as office.com/setup.
