Facebook Messenger Release Major Platform Update
Facebook Messenger, the biggest chatbot building platform, have released a major update full of important new features.
The new Facebook Messenger features
Alright, let's have a look at what Facebook had in store for us. Time to adapt!
New persistent menu
Facebook Messenger always had a persistent menu in the bottom left of the conversation screen. They have made a major change to this feature by making it fully visible at all times (unless you physically drag it down with your thumb).
It looks like this:
As you can see, the menu is persistent and fully opened, with the available options showing. The hamburger menu reappears once you start typing a message.
Note: the hamburger is located on the right of the text input field.
Disable text input
Chatbot builders can now disable text input from their users, rending it impossible for them to type anything back.
This should make flow-based chatbots a lot slicker as their users will never have the opportunity to stray off the path laid out by the buttons presented to them.
Misc - Sharing and targeting
Although these are of lesser importance, it is still worth mentioning.
Facebook have opened up targeting options. Chatbot owners can now limit access to specific countries.
Facebook have added new sharing features.
Need more in-depth info? Read the Messenger changelog.
