Facebook has apparently begun experimenting with a fresh variety of greetings that sit within the Hello button, which is located right below a user’s profile picture. According to a new report by The Next Web, which first spotted the new feature on the social networking giant, the new “Greetings” icons are currently being tested as a set of options for the Hello button, though it remains unclear how many users are seeing the Hello greeting variations or in which countries the new feature is being tested.
Last June, Facebook quietly rolled out the Hello button to its social networking platform to help users greet their friends with a simple hello message. However, since its debut, the feature has been causing a lot of stir among users due to the fact that it sits alongside the “Add Friend” button, which means the Hello button can sometimes interfere with a user’s interaction with other people on the social networking site. For instance, some users have complained that they sometimes accidentally press the Hello button instead of the Add Friend option because of the proximity of the former to the latter. Essentially, the purpose of the Hello button is just to grab the attention of a particular individual, which brings to mind the Poke feature or the Wave button on Messenger.
Now the new variations to Hello are adding a new flavor to the button, just like what Facebook Reactions do to the Like button. More specifically, the new Hello greetings include a wink, hug, poke or high-five, which provide users more ways to greet their friends other than just saying “hello” to them. The greetings buttons will pop up once the Hello button is pressed for a couple of seconds, which works in the same manner as Facebook Reactions. For users that receive a greeting from someone, a notification will be sent just like the usual case and clicking on it will redirect them to the profile page of the sender, just like how notifications for Facebook Reactions bring users to the post or comment to which the reaction was given. It remains to be seen when and if the new feature will be rolled out to the entire Facebook platform.