Over 2.5 billion emojis, photos, sticker, and videos are sent each day on Facebook Messenger. Starting today you’ll be able to send a whole lot more within the service with a new camera feature that allows you to add even more personalization to your photos and videos.
“In some ways the camera is now replacing the keyboard,” Peter Martinazzi, Facebook’s Product Manager for Messenger said in a blog post announcing the change. “As more people use Messenger in their everyday lives, we wanted to make it faster, simpler and more fun to send photos and videos — so we built the new Messenger camera.”
The first major change comes in simply how you snap a photo. Rather than launching the camera, the shutter button now lives right at the bottom of your display, making it simple to snap a shot. Starting today, you can also add 3D masks and special effects to your images, similar to how you might on Snapchat. Additions can range from a simple “Want to go for a run?” message over your photo, to something more elaborate, say a virtual face mask that makes you look like one of Santa’s reindeer.
Facebook has added literally thousands of frames, stickers, masks, and effects that you can choose from, which were designed by artists and influencers around the world. And it’s not just for photos and videos — Facebook is also rolling out a new “blank canvas” where you can add art and stickers to your text as well.
The new Messenger started rolling out to iOS and Android users from about a week ago.