If you still have a Facebook account, you will automatically have a Messenger account. Whether you realize it or not, Messenger is one of the most popular applications in the world. (I only use it to sell all my personal items in the Marketplace, but it has other features.) Below are the best features that need to be enabled to improve convenience and privacy.
When you tap the profile picture in the upper left, in the settings menu come up. You can use it to turn on dark mode for night messaging sessions. This menu also has “Active Status”, which you can turn off so others can’t see if you’re online or last logged in.
Scroll down to “Privacy” and select “Send messages.” This allows you to customize who can send you messages in the app, just your Facebook friends, anyone with your phone number, and more. You can decide whether these messages arrive directly in your inbox as chats or as easy-to-ignore message requests. In the “Preferences” section, select “Phone contacts” to control the data that the application pulls from your address book.
When you’re in a chat, click on the other participant’s photo and scroll down to “Go to secret conversation.” This will bring up a new chat that offers end-to-end encryption and messages that disappear. If you just swipe up in a regular conversation, you can turn on “Disappear Mode,” which will still make your messages disappear, albeit without added encryption. Please note: Vanish mode notifies all participants if someone captures a chat.