RU AU FR DE UK CA US
  •   
  •   

Tech & ScienceFacebook adds animated GIFs and more customization to Messenger Lite

14:30  06 december  2018
14:30  06 december  2018 Source:   engadget.com

Sidestepping App Stores, Facebook Lite and Groups get Instant Games

Sidestepping App Stores, Facebook Lite and Groups get Instant Games Facebook is giving HTML5 another shot as a way to expand its Instant Games

Your Facebook Messenger conversations are about to get a lot more animated ! Now you can use the Giphy for Messenger App to send GIFs ! Want to get started? The first step is downloading the Giphy for Messenger app — available in the Apple App store for iPhones and Google Play store for Android

Ditch Facebook Messenger . Use Messenger Lite Instead. Facebook first launched Lite a year ago, intending it for markets whose fickle or low-bandwidth internet connections would collapse under the weight of the full-fledged Messenger platform. You can still send a sticker, but it doesn’t animate .

Facebook adds animated GIFs and more customization to Messenger Lite

Messenger Lite, Facebook's stripped down version of its popular messaging app, is getting some new features for customization and expression. Starting today, users of the app will be able to send and view animated GIFs, change how conversations with people and groups look and share files with others.

Messenger Lite has always been capable of receiving GIFs, but prior today they weren't animated in-app. So basically, they were just pictures. Now they will play as intended. Facebook recommends using a third-party GIF keyboard like Google's Gboard to find and send GIFs, likely to keep the Messenger Lite app itself as trim as possible. Users can also send files through the platform by tapping the "+" symbol, selecting the file and hitting send.

While usage of the main app drops, Facebook hopes a simpler design boosts Messenger

While usage of the main app drops, Facebook hopes a simpler design boosts Messenger Facebook is finally slowing the brakes and doing an about-face on a trend that was starting to see its standalone Messenger app slowly turning into a jam-packed alternate version of the main app, with tons of features and services and all kinds of unrelated bells and whistles (like games) glommed onto the app's main function. 

I can send text messages and regular images via Facebook Messenger 's API. However, when I send GIFs , only a single frame is shown on the receiving end.

Facebook is finally embracing gifs by testing a feature that makes it super easy to bombard your friends with moving images. A dedicated gif button in the Facebook Messenger app will use images from outlets like Giphy and Riffsy. Messenger will be adding a search tool for gifs as well.

In addition to moving GIFs, Messenger Lite now supports most of the customization features that are present in the full-sized Messenger app. Users are now able to change the color of text bubbles in conversations. They'll also be able to give nicknames to the people they are talking to or change the name of a group chat.

Facebook has turned Messenger Lite into a pretty feature-rich service in recent years while keeping the app under 10MB. The lightweight messaging app that is available in over 100 countries got video chat capabilities earlier this year. While the app is primarily targeted at users in developing countries, it's also a less-bulky, data-saving alternative to Messenger for those who aren't interested in playing games or sending Snapchat-style messages.


New Pixel 3 Lite leak compares the budget Pixel to the iPhone XR and Pixel 3 XL.
Google may soon unveil a brand new Pixel 3: The cheaper Pixel 3 Lite model some Android fans may have been waiting for. 

—   Share news in the SOC. Networks

Topical videos:

This is interesting!
Sidestepping App Stores, Facebook Lite and Groups get Instant...
While usage of the main app drops, Facebook hopes a simpler design boosts...
Soon, you'll have 10 minutes to ‘unsend' a Facebook...