Facebook May Include SMS Services In Messenger App

By Jenn Loro - 15 Feb '16 02:30AM
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Social network giant Facebook will soon add a text messaging feature in its online chat and video calling app Facebook Messenger. If a series of testing succeeds, users can send SMS and change between multiple accounts with ease. However, these features shall be offered initially on Android platform since a great majority of Facebook users are using Android devices.

The new testing for SMS support in Messenger has been confirmed by Facebook after some Android users noticed some changes on their app. The tech company used to have an integrated SMS service but was eventually removed in 2013.

"Right now, we're testing the ability for people to easily bring all their conversations - from SMS and Messenger - to one place. It's a really simple way to get, see and respond to all your SMS messages in just one app. By choosing to access your SMS messages in Messenger, they're right alongside all the other enhanced features that Messenger offers," a Facebook spokesperson said as quoted in a report by VentureBeat.

Apart from bringing SMS service, Facebook added that the company will also enable users to manage several profiles on messengers which is increasingly common for users who are using the platform to frequently connect with their family and friends, business associates, and customers as mentioned in a report by GreenBot.

"Millions of people share phones with their family and friends. Until now, there hasn't been an easy way for people to access their individual Messenger accounts from shared devices. To address this, we've launched a feature on Android to enable multiple people to log in and use Messenger from a single phone," Facebook said in a statement as quoted by TechCrunch.

In a separate update according to JOE, Facebook has just added a specialized Valentine's Day button to its messaging app. The new feature in Facebook Messenger allows you to click on the heart-with-an-arrow-through-it button, type a chat message to someone, and then gift-wrap the message as if to make appear "secret". The other person can "unwrap" it by clicking on the image to reveal what the message says.

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