Facebook rolls out Messenger 4 with simple design, powerful features

To help users get used to changes, Facebook said it would roll out Messenger 4 in phases.

Facebook has rolled out a new, simplified version of text and video chap app Messenger – Messenger 4.

“We believe Messenger 4 delivers the closeness and authenticity that you’ve been asking for — through simplicity of design and powerful features that put the focus back on messaging and connecting,” Stan Chudnovsky, Vice President of Messenger, wrote in a Facebook news post.

Messenger 4 will gradually roll out globally over the coming weeks.

The new Messenger will have three tabs instead of nine.

“Your conversations — both one-to-one and groups — are front and center in the Chats tab. Messenger 4 will have visual communication features like Camera at the top so you can easily capture and share your selfies,” the post said.

Once you tap into Messenger 4’s People tab, you can find friends, catch up on people’s Stories, and see everyone who is active right now. Then you have the Discover tab, where you can connect with businesses to get the latest deals, play Instant Games, book your next vacation, follow the news and more.

Messenger 4 has another way to personalize your conversations with chat customizations called color gradients. With this feature, you can now use multiple colors to customize your chat bubbles in conversations. You can see the colors change from red to blue, for example, as you scroll up and down a conversation. Color gradients can be changed any time to reflect your mood or topic of conversation.

Facebook said that there are a handful of new features that it is planning to introduce in the near future, like Dark Mode, a re-skinned interface that cuts down on the glare from your phone.