By David Lumb
last
updated
(Image: © Facebook Messenger)
When trying to stay in touch with people, why not harness one of the most popular social media networks on the planet? Facebook Messenger is a capable and easy-to-use app to chat with text, audio, or video – and if you’ve already got a Facebook account, you’ve basically already got it set up.
That’s because Facebook Messenger works off the back-end of Facebook, allowing you to strike up chats with any friend on the network. In a web browser, you can open up recent chats via the ‘Messages’ button on the top menu bar or switch over to a dedicated Facebook Messenger page to browse all your conversations.
On mobile, Facebook Messenger has its own dedicated app on either iOS or Android, but the concept is the same: converse with all your existing Facebook friends in a simplified interface.
If you haven’t used Facebook, we’ll help you get set up in the next section – and if you don’t want to sign up, we’ll walk you through that getting Messenger without an account, too. If you already have a Facebook account, skip down to the ‘How To Chat With Facebook Messenger’ section below.
Signing up for Facebook is easy: just head to the social network’s main page, click ‘sign up,’ and fill in all your details.
If you don’t want to sign up, good news – you don’t have to on mobile. (Desktop and web users are out of luck, sadly.)
In the Facebook Messenger mobile app, click ‘Not on Facebook?’ and input your phone number, as this guide describes. It’s that easy.
On desktop, Facebook Messenger is easy to use once you’ve logged in to Facebook.
As previously mentioned, you can access conversations within the social network by clicking the word bubble-shaped ‘Messages’ icon in the top bar to open a drop-down menu of your recent conversations.
Click on a conversation and it will appear in a small window on the bottom of the window. Aside from exchanging text messages as you would any other platform, you can click the camera button or phone button at the top to jump into a video or audio call, respectively. The cog ‘settings’ button lets you mute, ignore, or block unwanted conversations, or open the chat up to a group.
You can also use the cog ‘settings’ button to open the chat up in the dedicated Facebook Messenger page. You can also access this by clicking on the ‘Messenger’ button at the top of the browser and scrolling to the bottom of the drop-down menu to click “See All in Messenger” to open the dedicated Facebook Messenger site.
The Messenger page lists conversations on the left, the selected conversation in the center, and contact details on the right.
Above the latter are the ‘call’ and ‘camera’ buttons for audio and video chats, respectively, which are a bit hidden in the top right corner. Other options, like attaching photos or sending audio clips, are at the bottom surrounding the text entry box. You can also drag and drop files from your desktop straight into the chat window.
On mobile, launch the Facebook Messenger app and you’ll see your list of chats listed vertically. Tap one and you’ll enter the conversation in a compact window: audio call and video chat buttons are in the top right, while image and voice message buttons aare at the bottom left of the chat box. To go back to the chat list, tap the back arrow at the top left of the display.
At the bottom of the conversation list are two buttons: Chats (where you are now) and People, which brings you to Stories from Facebook friends as well as an Active list of who is available to chat. Tap on your profile icon in the top left corner to switch your own status, handle message requests, and fiddle with other settings.
David is now a mobile reporter at Cnet. Formerly Mobile Editor, US for TechRadar, he covered phones, tablets, and wearables. He still thinks the iPhone 4 is the best-looking smartphone ever made. He's most interested in technology, gaming and culture – and where they overlap and change our lives. His current beat explores how our on-the-go existence is affected by new gadgets, carrier coverage expansions, and corporate strategy shifts.
In Get informed, Parents
Facebook Messenger is a FREE mobile messaging app used for instant messaging, sharing photos, videos, audio recordings and for group chats. The app, which is free to download, can be used to communicate with your friends on Facebook and with your phone contacts.
The Messenger app is a separate app to Facebook. However, users’ profiles can be set using their Facebook account or telephone number.
Like Facebook, users should be 13+ to download the app.
UPDATE: The Digital Age of Consent in Ireland is set at 16 years of age. If you are under 16, you must have consent of a parent or guardian.
For younger Messenger users ‘Stickers’ are a popular function within the app.
Users simply download the app to their mobile/tablet device; the app can also be used on desktop. Users have the option of setting up Messenger using their Facebook account or with their telephone number (similar to Whatsapp, Viber, ooVoo etc.) If you choose to set-up an account with your Facebook profile, Messenger takes information from your Facebook profile to set up your Messenger profile. This information includes friends list, profile picture, etc. The app can sync with your phone contacts as well as with your current friend list on Facebook.
With all other similar messaging apps, there are some risks and things to watch out for. Some of the more common risks include cyberbullying, experiencing or sharing inappropriate content and chatting with strangers. To help avoid these problems, the same rules should apply to all online interactions for young people; only share data with those who you trust in real life, think before you click and report any inappropriate data or messages to a trusted adult.
There are some other risks more specific to the Messenger app which parents should be also be aware of:
Location Services
The Messenger app allows users to send other users their location in message. This is done using GPS technology available on most devices now. Parents may want to disable location services on their child’s device to avoid any potential risk. On most devices location services can be found in the phone settings. Simply disable the ‘access to my location’ option.
How to disable location settings on Android
For Apple devices go: support.apple.com/en-us
Facebook Privacy Settings
When set up with a Facebook account, the Messenger app can sync with all of your phone book contacts in addition to Facebook friends. If you are concerned about who might be in your child’s contacts list or would prefer to limit who your child’s contacts to only Facebook friends, this can be done by skipping the sync with contacts option when downloading the app or turning it off in the settings.
Go to Settings > People > Turn Synced Contacts off.
Another privacy setting parents should be aware of is ‘Who can contact me’. By default this Facebook setting is set to ‘basic filtering’ – which means friends and people you may know can contact you on Facebook and on Messenger. To avoid risk of contact from someone your child may not know, it is recommended that this setting be switched to strict filtering (only friends can send messages to the account). This only applies when a user has set up a Messenger account using Facebook. To limit who can contact your child:
Go to Settings > Select Privacy > Select edit on ‘Whose messages do I want filtered into my Inbox?’ (this can be found in the Who can contact me section’) > Switch from basic filtering to strict filtering.
Useful Links
Facebook Messenger Privacy Settings: facebook.com/help/messenger-app/
Facebook Messenger Information on Safety: facebook.
com/help
To quickly communicate with contacts, all Facebook account holders use the messenger - a special program for organizing correspondence and dialogues, which is available both in the browser and as a separate application for your smartphone. Let's take a closer look at how different versions of the messenger work, how they differ, and how to use Facebook Messenger on various devices.
Contents
April 8, 2015 Mark Zuckerberg presented the long-awaited web version of the messenger. Previously, users could only download a mobile application for communication or chat on Facebook on the website of the social network itself.
Now you can exchange messages in a separate browser window without wasting your time reading the Facebook news feed in parallel. The web version is absolutely free and is used by everyone who has a personal Facebook page.
This assembly of the popular communication program has already surpassed the browser services from Telegram and Whatsapp in terms of the number of daily visits.
With a high probability, the program will become your main means of communication with all your friends and colleagues:
In real time, you can find out if the interlocutor has read your message; 
To start chatting in the messenger, just wave to Facebook to another user using a special key in the dialog. Let's take a look at how to use Facebook's quick messaging in a browser. To get started, go to messenger.com and log in using your existing Facebook page.
Login to Facebook Messenger
Working with the browser version of the messenger is very easy. The interface is similar to other popular programs.
Browser and mobile versions of the messenger have an identical interface. However, if you're using Facebook Messenger on mobile, there are more features available to you for now.
Another difference between the two versions is the type of use. Messenger for iPhone or Android must be installed as a separate program from the application store.
The web version does not need to be installed, just open any browser and start using it.
If the messenger is not working, find out why this is happening on a separate page.
Attendance may not be visible only by applying special settings through the browser. Recall that the standard web version of the social network allows you to easily view all the correspondence that is in Messenger.
You cannot hide your activity in the mobile version of the messenger.
Next, let's look at a few simple ways to hide visit times using a browser.
Mozilla Firefox users have a quick method to hide visiting time in Facebook messenger.
It remains to go to the Facebook website, open the settings window again and change the value in the filter field back from "0" to "1".
After that, no one will know when a person visited the site.
The second method will work in any browser. Its essence lies in the fact that none of your friends will see the time of your visit to Facebook, but you can still conduct secret correspondence with them.
Not so long ago, Facebook introduced the ability to create not only user pages and groups, but also public profiles for companies.
Users can now send private messages to companies and receive replies.
Organizations can also target the flow of leads with a feature such as a Facebook Messenger mailing list.
Often a letter from an organization is automatically recognized by the service as spam, so it is not displayed in the main dialog window. To view all hidden messages, go to the settings window and find the "Conversation Requests" field.
Video: Benefits of Facebook messenger.
Now you know what Facebook Messenger is, how to start working with it using a browser or smartphone, and how to hide your activity from other users using Facebook settings. Remember: after you launch the mobile app, others will be able to see when you last accessed the chat.
Despite recent scandals, the social network is still the most popular in the world - the daily audience is about 300 million unique users.
Please note that a business version of the messenger is planned for enterprises, which will facilitate communication between groups of employees.
There is a free tariff
from Facebook
6 reviewsAsk a question I use Flag if you use. This will improve your personal recommendations.
Additional features of Facebook Messenger:
Popularity
7/25
Mention (59)
12/25
Reviews (6)
2/25
Platforms (3)
9000 14/25| Website: https://www.messenger.com/ Email: [email protected] Phone: +7 (844) 735-45- 0 | Apps are free. |
Platforms: Web application Android application iOS application
24
Deployment: Cloud
12
Available languages: Russian, English
13
Call Recording
24
Work from different devices
eighteen
Call distribution
eight
Statistics
fourteen
Group chats
eight
video calls
5
Sending files
6
Access via HTTPS protocol Data between you and the service is transmitted over an encrypted channel (SSL/TLS), which prevents them from being intercepted by intruders.
84
Multi-factor authentication The combined use of several factors reduces the risk of data leakage (in addition to the password, cards, fingerprint scanners, etc. are used).
49
Multi-location backup Data backup to multiple independent locations makes it virtually impossible for data to be lost or corrupted.
64
Call recording
—
Bad
Comfort
Functionality
You know what I don't like? That there is no way to communicate simply, if you do not download this thing. And why do I need dopas, if I’m not a frequent visitor to FB anyway. I use it because sometimes I have to write at work.
And if there is no messenger, then you will not see half from the phone. I don't think it's fair!
facebook messenger
Margarita
3
3
0
28058
Review Bad
Support
Slowly took an important place among other communication channels, business partners are easiest to find here, make first contact with them, exchange a few words - too. Moreover, all correspondence is saved, you can use emoticons, well, video call
not always understandable graphic notation system
great application for those who rarely use facebook
facebook messenger retail and consumer services IT, internet, telecom consulting media development non-commercial areas volunteer management Hotel and restaurant business event management
Grishka Uvarov
2
7
0
59618
Review
September 17, 2015
Facebook Messenger
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I rarely use this messenger.
If someone writes to FB, I answer. Previously, I answered through the FB app, but now I need to install this messenger - it's inconvenient. I prefer Telegrams/Watsaps/Vibers.
facebook messenger retail and consumer services IT, Internet, telecom consulting media development non-profit areas volunteer management Hotel and restaurant business event management November 22, 2021
