Facebook finally tries out GIFs in main app but only for comments

After keeping it away from its main app for years, Facebook is conceding a bit when it comes to posting GIFs. But at the moment it’ll be limited to posting GIFs as comments and not as a post on the News Feed. And it is currently available to a small number of users as Facebook tests out the feature. It’ll work pretty similar to how you post GIFs in Messenger, where you can browse trending GIFs or look for specific reactions to share.

Facebook is quick to say that they are currently just testing out the feature. In a statement to TechCrunch: “Everyone loves a good GIF and we know that people want to be able to use them in comments. So we’re about to start testing the ability to add GIFs to comments and we’ll share more when we can, but for now we repeat that this is just a test.” But who knows if people use it often enough, they might roll it out to more users.

Facebook Messenger app gets mentions and reactions

You’re familiar with reactions on Facebook’s main app, right? Well, that feature is making its way to Messenger in hopes of making it easier to communicate in group messages within the app. Aside from that, the social network is also introducing an @ mentions system, too. When it comes to reactions you get all the ones you see on Facebook itself plus a new thumbs down option. This gives you one more option to react using emojis within Messenger. Who says you need words these days?

Now, if you’re in a big group chat and want to call out a specific person, you can just type in the @symbol to notify them to join the conversation. The person you mention will get a notification to join said conversation. This message will be highlighted in blue to help catch them easily. These new features are said to be coming to Messenger real soon.

Source: Android Central + Wired

Facebook rolls out ‘Messenger Day’ to users worldwide

The Snapchat stories clone from Facebook first debuted in Poland around September last year. Now, it looks like Facebook’s Messenger Day is ready to go live for all users around the world. According to the social network, it is now live for all Android and iOS users around the world. If you’ve used either Snapchat or Instagram’s own stories feature, you know how this works. You can use the built in camera of Facebook Messenger to take photos that you can add graphics and text to so you can show how your day went. These posts will be live for 24 hours before these disappear. Having yet another Facebook service copy Snapchat shows how prevalent images are for communicating these days. Even the New York Times wrote about how big role Snapchat and images play in communicating with others are.

Source: The Verge

Facebook now has a dedicated virtual reality app

Facebook is now stepping further into the virtual reality realm and muddying up a bit the separation between Facebook and Oculus. Oculus Video used to be the go-to app for Gear VR users who wanted to engage with Facebook videos. Now, with Facebook 360, that might change. The new app will be Facebook’s hub for 360-degree videos and photos. The social network claims there will be over a million videos and 25 million 360-degree photos to date and that’ll make for a robust start to the app. It currently only works for the Gear VR headset and can be downloaded on the Oculus Store.

Facebook 360 will have four main feeds, including the Explore, Following, Saved, and Timeline tab. Explore gives you a look at the popular content on the platform from different media companies and creators. Following shows you content created by your friends. Saved shows you the 360-degree content you’ve seen online and might have wanted to see while using the headset. And Timeline shows your own 360-degree photos and videos. You’ll be able to react to content, save, and share as well in the app. But Facebook promises there will be more social features coming up in the future.

Source: TechCrunch