Facebook Messenger adds NEW 'birthday gift cash transfers' and hidden game in surprise update

FACEBOOK Messenger on Wednesday announced a suite of new features to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

The surprise update to the popular app adds a hidden game, word effects and the ability to gift someone cash on their birthday via Facebook Pay.

Facebook’s Messenger chief Stan Chudnovsky announced the changes during a call with reporters.

In total, ten features and tools have been introduced to Messenger to celebrate the app turning ten years old.

A number are "birthday" versions of existing features, such as AR effects, stickers, chat themes and more.

Also being rolled out are new poll games in which users ask mates in a chat who is more likely to do a certain activity.

Messenger has also jazzed up the animation that plays when you send your mates a bit of money on their birthday.

Now, effects like virtual balloons pop up when you give friends a cash gift via Facebook Pay to celebrate their big day.

As well as new features, Chudnovsky discussed Messenger's commitment to protecting users' messages with end-to-end encryption.

The security protocol, which is already offered by Facebook service WhatsApp, encrypts chats so only the sender and receiver can read them.

Adding the additional layer of protection to Messenger chats will assist Facebook in its grand plans to merge its suite of apps.

The California company eventually wants users to seamlessly chat across Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.

The plan was announced back in 2019, but it's taking a little while to encrypt Messenger as engineers rebuild the app from the ground up.

"We need to rebuild all these features in [an] end-to-end encrypted environment, and make them fully capable," Chudnovsky said.

Noting that Messenger is persistently adding new features, he said: "It's almost like we are constantly trying to catch up with ourselves."

Looking for tips and hacks for your phone? Want to find those secret features within social media apps? We have you covered…

In other news, nine apps have had to be removed from the Google Play Store after they were caught stealing Facebook passwords.

Facebook is facing backlash in the US over plans to create a version of Instagram for children under 13.

And, influencers who don’t clearly state if they’ve edited photos which are advertisements could be fined or imprisoned in Norway due to a new law.

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