Facebook
Facebook Messenger has had video chat capabilities for a couple of years now, and last December, it finally added group chat capabilities. Today, the company is unveiling even more features to Messenger's video chat service such as animated reactions, filters and effects to hopefully make Messenger video calling a lot more fun.
Messenger video chat reactions are essentially the animated versions of the five Facebook emoji icons you probably already know: love, laughter, surprise, sadness and anger. Tap any of those emoji icons and the reactions will appear on screen as animations -- the love icon, for example, will prompt hearts to fly around your head, while the laughter icon will prompt several laughing emoji heads to crowd the screen.
As for filters and effects, those who are familiar with Facebook's Snapchat-style Camera will probably already recognize them. The filters range from mild color changes to bolder black and white transformations, while mask effects can add everything from a crown to bunny ears to your head. And if you open or close your mouth, you could even trigger some fun animations. We should note that mask effects like these have already been in Messenger video chat since last December; there's just simply more of them now.
And as you're having fun with all of these new video chat features with your friends, you can also now capture the moment for posterity by tapping the camera icon. It'll screenshot the chat, which you can then post to Messenger Day, send it to the folks you're chatting with, or share on other accounts. If you're keen on adding more flair to your own video chats, you can try out the new Messenger features starting today.