Facebook is giving Messenger a cleaner new look: Details here
Facebook is finally giving Messenger, its dedicated product for instant messaging, a cleaner new look. The platform, as the company had promised, is being simplified with a redesign that solely focuses on the element of communication and has no unnecessary clutter - features that no one ever used. Here's all you need to know about it.
Discover tab being purged in big change
When Facebook introduced the new Messenger two years ago, it had three main tabs: Chats, People, and Discover. The first two allowed users to go through open conversations and find people active on Messenger, while the third one provided access to additional items like Business messages and Games. Unsurprisingly, the latter never really took off and is now being removed from Messenger for good.
Discover bots made Messenger as a customer-service app
Discover's failure can be partly attributed to the business accounts it hosted - to let people communicate with automated bots of business/companies. The feature was interesting but it made Messenger more like a monotonous customer service hub rather than an engaging messaging app. Plus, the integration of games was rather futile for a platform designed for the purpose of messaging.
So, what the new Messenger looks like
With the Discover tab gone, Messenger looks extremely clean and puts the focus back on messaging and connecting with friends. The Chats tab remains largely unchanged, but the People section has been redesigned into two categories: Stories and Active. On the Stories page, you will find daily stories from your Facebook friends to start conversations, while the Active section will show who is online.
You could still access instant games on web
While we are pretty sure chatbot-backed businesses will not be missed on Messenger, there might be some fans looking for their favorite Facebook Instant Games. If you are in this category, instead of heading to Messenger, open Facebook on the web and scroll to the 'Games' section to continue playing your favorite titles. You won't find this section on the main Facebook app either.
When you will get the new Messenger?
The cleaner new Messenger redesign was announced last year and has now started rolling out for Android and iOS devices. We were able to try the new look, and you should also get it within the next few days.
