It started out as a simple and easy-to-use chat feature on Facebook, before becoming a fully-packed sophisticated messaging app.
Facebook Messenger was born as Facebook Chat in 2008. When the social giant decided to "unbundle the big blue app" with the announcement of Facebook Creative Labs in 2014, the feature was made as a standalone app, standing on its own feet under its own brand.
Since then, Messenger has undergone numerous changes and updates, in which introduced more and more features. As a result, Messenger has become one of the most feature-packed messaging app, with more things than it ever needed.
On October 23rd, 2018, Facebook is shifting its strategy a bit, with the introduction of 'Messenger 4'.
According to a Newsroom post by Stan Chudnovsky, VP of Messenger:
First of all, Facebook updates Messenger to be easier to navigate.
Here, Facebook is cutting down the number of tabs, from nine to three:
- Chats: The place for messaging. Messenger 4 is having visual communication features like Camera at the top so users can easily capture and share their selfies.
- People: Users can use thing to find friends, catch up on people’s Stories, and see everyone who is active at any given moment.
- Discover: Allowing users to connect with businesses to get the latest deals, play Instant Games, book their next vacation, follow the news and more.
Messenger 4 also introduces more ways to personalize conversation.
"We know people love to use Messenger to express themselves with custom nicknames, emojis and chat colors. That’s why Messenger 4 has another way to personalize your conversations with a small but delightful update to chat customizations called color gradients," said Facebook.
With this feature, users can use multiple colors to customize their chat bubbles in conversations.
The next update is to make Messenger simpler and easier to use.
Here, Facebook keeps all of the features that help its Messenger users connect with the people they care about. "Whether you want to poll your friends on which movie to see, split the bill for last night’s dinner, share your live location to find friends at a music festival, challenge them to your favorite games, or catch up in a group video chat, we aren’t changing anything about what you’ve always loved about Messenger."
But this time, Messenger doesn't want to clutter things. So the changes won't be introducing anything significant. Instead, the features are minimal as the company is doing a little housekeeping to keep the clutters down.
And since Messenger 4 introduces a different messaging experience than its previous versions, it can take time to get used to the changes. This is why Facebook is rolling out Messenger 4 in phases.
Chudnovsky noted there are further developments in the works. This includes Facebook's plan to introduce features like Dark Mode, and a re-skinned interface that cuts down on the glare from phones. These features are to be included with Messenger 4, but on later stages.
"So take your time, settle in, and we’ll be back with more soon," ended Chudnovsky.
Conclusion
Stan Chudnovsky describes Messenger 4 as a “new, simplified” version of the app, with Facebook updating the interface and cutting down the clutters here and there that have plagued the app for years.
Since the beginning of its inception, Messenger has gradually became more crowded and sophisticated. What started out as a dedicated app for Facebook's Chat service, the messaging app has become huge and somehow confusing in its own right. With games, video calls, Stories and so forth, everything was there.
To make it even more confusing, between all of those features, there are ads. This worsened experience, making even the job to find one message a daunting task.
So yes, Facebook in cutting down the clutters on Messenger is a needed change.