Messenger Lite for Android, a slimmed down version of Messenger, just got richer with more features that allow you to better express yourself and share more with family and friends. Richer does not mean heavier though. Intended for people with less powerful Android devices and/or slower Internet connections, the app that offers the core features of Messenger, is still under 10MB making it fast to install and quick to start up.
While you could receive GIFs in Messenger Lite for some time, they were not animated. Starting now, people can express themselves more in chats with family and friends by sending and playing animated GIFs. To send a GIF, use a third party keyboard (such as the Google keyboard), search for GIFs in their library, and send a more expressive message. You can also customize your conversations with different people and groups. With various color choices and emojis, you can now make your chat more personal. Is it a friend’s birthday? Give them a nickname (maybe birthday girl or birthday boy) for a day and make the emoji in the chat a birthday cake. All you have to do is tap the info button in the top right to change the colors, nicknames and emojis as many times as you want. When you make a change, the people you’re chatting with will see what updates you selected.
If you’d like to share a file, picture, a video, or an audio file with friends and family, you can now do so in Messenger Lite. To share a file, tap the “+” sign, select file or video from the popup, and hit send.
In addition to making continuous investments to the quality and speed of Messenger Lite, Facebook introduced video calling this year because having lower bandwidth or an older Android phone shouldn’t mean you can’t chat face-to-face live with the people you care about most. Facebook is also making investments to more promptly address bugs or violating content so people can have the most positive experiences possible in Messenger Lite. Facebook looks forward to sharing more features and improvements in 2019.
