Oddly, given its desire to compete with Snapchat across platforms, Facebook has now decreased the size of its Camera button in Messenger. For example, Games – which just rolled out worldwide earlier this month – gets its own button on this bar now that Groups has been relocated elsewhere. Now, at the top of the Messenger home screen, there are tabs for your messages and a list of who’s active on the app now (as indicated by the green dot next to their name), alongside the new groups tab.īy giving active users their own dedicated section, it feels like Messenger is encouraging you to start more conversations through the app, as it’s easier to see who’s online in one long, vertically scrollable list, as opposed the horizontal scrollbar before.īut also, by centralizing all these messaging-focused areas into the home screen instead of spread around the app, it frees up Messenger to focus other, newer parts to its experience in its main navigation bar at the bottom.

The update relocates Groups from the bottom navigation bar to the a tab at the top of the screen, making it a less prominent feature in the redesigned app. In addition, the app will now push you to visit other areas by using a red dot on various sections and tabs to let you know when there’s activity.įacebook explains that the new design is meant to better highlight the many other ways that people connect and communicate, beyond text messages. The update introduces new tabs to the top of Messenger’s main screen for moving between your messages, active contacts, and groups.

No, it’s not getting rid of its Stories feature, Messenger Day, but is instead making a series a smaller changes to the way the content on its home screen is organized in an effort to speed navigation and help you pick up where you left off on your last visit. Facebook Messenger is getting a new look.

Messenger on home screen