Facebook Messenger 15.0

Facebook Messenger is a stand-alone app that allows you to chat with your Facebook friends and send SMS and text messages to any contact on your phone. The application also allows you to make free calls to other Facebook Messenger users.

Communicate with everyone

Facebook Messenger combines friends and mobile contacts to allow for group messages, along with location-based functionality.

Since Facebook Messenger is focused on messaging, the app may seem a bit simplistic. It functions very similarly to other communication apps though, with the addition of location services. The group chat combines multiple users together and allows for messages to be collated in one window.

If you have SMS enabled, you can also use Facebook Messenger to talk with phone contacts. The application now allows you to send messages to any contact in your phone, not just your Facebook friends. Facebook contacts show up with a blue bubble and SMS messages show in green. When you are finished communicating, you just swipe the icon down and remove the notification from your screen.

Facebook Messenger supports stickers, including a decent range of default stickers, plus the opportunity to purchase new stickers through the store in order to brighten up your conversations.

Facebook Messenger lets you make free calls through the app. Calls are free over WiFi, but if you're using a mobile data connection you'll need to pay the standard charges. The app only supports voice calling at the moment, so if you want to make video calls you're better off with Tango, Skype, or ooVoo.

There is also a fun feature for shooting short video messages. From within the app you can capture and play 15-second videos from your device's camera and share them with your friends in the chat.

More fun is to be had with the new 'Big Likes' feature, which allows you to add even larger thumb's up stickers to your chats in Facebook Messenger.

Simple to use thanks to Chat Heads

The interface is simple to use is and the various features are neatly laid out for you. It's very easy to see who is online and get instant notifications of when someone has sent you a message.

The design of the Facebook Messenger user interface is clean and tidy. The blue of the menu icons and green of the alert messages stand out clearly against the app's white background and this understated look gives greater presence to the conversations themselves.

What's new in Facebook Messenger?

The latest version of Facebook Messenger introduces a new paintbrush feature, which allows you to unleash your creative side by drawing or typing on your photos in your camera roll before you send them to your friends via the app. You can change the thickness and color of the paintbrush but all the text is automatically centered in the middle of the screen.