Facebook rolls out new messaging features on Instagram and Messenger

Facebook rolls out three new features for Instagram and Messenger that make connecting with people on social platforms more exciting, a blog post said Wednesday.

- Watch Together — the feature enables users to watch TV shows, movies, in real time over video chat.

- Chat themes — such as tie-dye and love, so users can personalise their conversations.

- Vanish mode — it makes seen messages disappear after you leave a chat thread.

The first feature, Watch Together, is available now.

Once a user updates their app, on Instagram, they and their friends can tune into IGTV, Reels, TV shows, movies, and trending videos in real-time over video chat.

"We’re also bringing two new shows, “Post Malone’s Celebrity World Pong League” and “Here for It With Avani Gregg,” exclusively to Messenger and Instagram through Watch Together," the post said.

How to watch the shows?

Start a video chat on Instagram or Messenger or create a Messenger Room.

In an Instagram video chat, tap the media button in the bottom right and select the "TV & Movies" tab.

In a Messenger video chat, swipe up to access the menu, select Watch Together then select the "TV & Movies" tab.

From there you can select various videos and other content, including Avani and Post’s shows.

"The second feature is chat themes such as tie-dye and love, so you can personalise your conversations," the post said, adding: "And we’re adding a special chat theme on Messenger and Instagram with TinyTAN, a group of lovable characters created from the seven members of BTS.

Once a user updates to the new experience, they will be able to activate the TinyTAN chat theme on Instagram and Messenger.

"Express your affection with emojis, share your favorite songs from the new album or customize your message reactions for your perfect TinyTAN-themed chat," it said.

You can activate the TinyTAN chat theme on Instagram and Messenger in your chat settings by tapping Theme and selecting TinyTAN.

The third feature, vanish mode, is coming soon that makes seen messages disappear after you leave a chat thread.

Sometimes a message is spontaneous — something you want to share at the moment without worrying about it sticking around.

Now you can send memes, GIFs, or reactions to share what you really think but can’t always say, without it staying in your chat history.

To turn it on, just swipe up in an existing chat thread — and you’re in vanish mode. Swipe up again and you’re back to your regular chat.

The vanish feature is available for the Messenger users in the US, and it will soon be rolled out in European countries, Facebook said, adding that on Instagram, it will be coming soon.

Watch Together and chat themes are just two of the ten new messaging features, including selfie stickers, custom emoji reactions, animated message effects, and message controls, now available globally to anyone who chooses to update to the new Messenger experience on Instagram.