Fb Messenger gets Mention alerts & Message Reactions for chats

Social networking giant Facebook has added new features into its Messenger app. The company has introduced some new emoticons that users can add to their messages. Facebook has also introduced a new feature called 'Mentions' for Group chats on Messenger.

In the Mentions feature, the users just need to add a @ before the name of the user they wish to reply in a group chat. The other members of the group will see it as highlighted text. Moreover, Facebook has also tweaked the way in which notifications for mentions are delivered. Instead of a plain notification, the users will get a message informing them that they have been specially tagged in a message.

On the other hand, the Message Reactions is a small timeline in the group chat where the members can replay to a particular message with emoticons. The complete range of Messenger emoticons is available for message reactions. If a user reacts to a message then the others can see the reactions to the bottom right of the message. Everyone can also see who has reacted with what emoji. The group members can also use text, videos, GIFs and stickers to react to a particular message. The reactions feature will work in both individual and group chats.

Recently, Facebook rolled out live video support for desktops. In order to start a Facebook live video from a desktop PC, users just have to click on the 'Live video' option from the top of their News Feed. Following that, they have to add a description and choose the target audience. Facebook has also added a feature which makes it easier to use streaming software or external hardware, when going live from a computer. Until now, this was only limited to Pages.