There are a lot of great messaging apps, and one of the most popular is Messenger. The app was initially a component of Facebook but was then spun off as its own stand-alone app, offering users the ability to create an account without having a Facebook page. Although it might not be the most robust messaging app available, it offers a wide variety of features like chat, support for SMS, voice and video calling, and more. Perhaps one of its most important updates was introducing E2EE (end-to-end encryption) to the platform, giving users a more secure way to connect.

Now the platform is spicing up its E2EE experience, offering staples like chat themes, chat emojis and reactions, along with a number of other features. While chat themes, chat emojis and reactions are all kind of standard features in this day and age, they were absent from Messenger's encrypted experience until now. Today, Meta announced that these features would now be available, giving user's conversations more soul. In addition, the platform will also introduce the ability to set different group profile photos for colleagues at work and friends.

Furthermore, link previews will now be available in encrypted chats, along with a status indicator that will show your contacts when you're online and using the app. Perhaps the best bit of news from this is that Bubbles on Android returns, giving you a simple and easy way to reach people from the home screen. If unfamiliar, this puts a small bubble on the screen that gives you quick and easy access to chats on Messenger. Currently, E2EE has not rolled out to all Messenger users, but Meta does state that it's "gradually expanding" the service. When end-to-end encryption is rolled out, users should see a message indicating the change.

Source: Meta