Facebook is continuing on their quest to liven up their services in as many ways as possible. Today, the social media giant has launched a new camera and camera features for Messenger that not only give users an improved way to take pictures natively within the app, but it also adds in some special effects capabilities so users have a way to tweak their pictures taken within Messenger before sharing them in a conversation. This is the global launch of the Messenger Camera, so it should be rolling out worldwide starting today. Having said that, the feature won’t show up for all users today as Facebook admits that it will take the next few days to reach everyone.
Of course the secret to the start of the camera’s improvements is access, and not just access but quick access. Facebook is after all, about sharing moments with friends and family and sometimes there’s no better way to share moments than with pictures and video, so naturally Facebook has made it easier and faster to access the camera. It’s essentially one tap away, and the button is dead center in the nav bar at the bottom of the app. This goes for whether you’re already in a conversation with someone or if you are just opening the app. Facebook also mentions that people can use this one single button for both still image shots and video capture, and to record video they simply need to long press on the shutter button instead of tapping on it.
Those who are more interested in the special effects, with this new and improved Messenger Camera Facebook is bringing in 3D Masks and special effects such as falling snow and text that can be added to images. The new Messenger Camera follows some M suggestions that Facebook began adding to Messenger earlier this morning that are powered by AI technology, and the “Instant Games” that were added into Messenger as of the end of November. Messenger is still about conversations at its core, but with all of these new feature adds it’s clear that Facebook is doing what they can to make Messenger more than just an app for chatting it up and keep users in the app longer.
