How to Chat Using Facebook Messenger App on iOS

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parts

1Setting Up Messenger

2Viewing Your Messages

3Sending Messages

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Questions & Answers

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References

The Messenger app by Facebook is separate from the main Facebook app. It is used to exclusively handle Facebook’s messaging capabilities with an optimized mobile interface. First you will need to download the app and sign in with your Facebook account, become familiar with the interface and controls, then start messaging! Don’t forget that the chat tools send automatically when tapped!

Steps

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Setting Up Messenger

1. 
   1
   Download and open Messenger from the App Store. Tap “Install” and then “Open” once the installation completes.
2. 
   2
   Sign in to your Facebook account. Input your email and password for your Facebook account. Tap the “Continue” button to proceed. Once signed in you will be prompted to set your notifications preferences.

   • If you already have the Facebook app installed and signed in, you will instead see a blue “Continue as…” button upon launch.
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3. 
   3
   Tap “Allow” enable notifications for Messenger. This way you will know when you have received new messages.

   • If you chose not to allow notifications, you can change this later by tapping “Me” in the bottom menu bar of Messenger, then tap “Notifications” and a select “Turn On Notifications’.
   • To disable notifications once they are already enabled, you have to launch the “Settings” app, scroll down to “Messenger”, and tap “Notifications” to access to the notification switch.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Viewing Your Messages

1. 
   1
   Tap the “Home” button to browse your recent conversations. This button is on the left side of the bottom menu bar. A preview of the last message in the conversation will display under the contact name.

   • Any previous conversations on from your Facebook account will be automatically transferred over into Messenger.
2. 
   2
   Tap on a contact or group chat to view the conversation. On an iPhone you will be taken to a new page with the conversation contents. On iPad the conversation will appear in the right panel, with the contact list remaining on the left.

   • Your messages will appear in blue while messages from the others will appear in gray.
   • Scroll down to browse your chat history.
3. 
   3
   Tap a picture to view it full-sized. This will view an enlarged version of any picture sent to you in the chat.

   • Tap the “Done” button on the upper-right side when you’re done viewing the picture to go back to your messages.
4. 
   4
   Tap a URL or link to view it directly from the app. Messenger will display the page contents without leaving the app.

   • Tap “Back” to return to your conversation.
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Sending Messages

1. 
   1
   Tap the “New Message” button and enter the name of a contact. This button is represented by a pencil and paper icon and is located in the top menu bar.

   • The search results will be separated by people from your contacts as well as other people on Facebook that match your search.
2. 
   2
   Alternately, tap the search bar and enter a name to search for contacts. The search bar is located in the top menu bar.

   • The search results will be separated by people from your contacts as well as other people on Facebook that match your search.
3. 
   3
   Tap a name to start a conversation.
4. 
   4
   Select the “Type a message...” field and enter your message. This field is located at the bottom of the conversation window.
5. 
   5
   Tap the “Send” button on the right of the bottom toolbar. This button will only send entered text. Other tools in the toolbar will be sent automatically when they are selected.
6. 
   6
   Tap the “Aa” or smiley face grid to toggle between keyboards. This button is located on the left of the bottom toolbar of the conversation window. “Aa” indicates a normal text keyboard and the smiley face grid displays an emoji keyboard to add various smiley faces to your message.
7. 
   7
   Tap the camera icon to take a picture. This button will launch the camera. Once a photo is taken you will be prompted to “Retake” or “Use Photo”. Tapping “Use Photo” will automatically send the picture to your recipient.

   • You may be prompted to grant the app permission to access the camera. Tap “Allow” or you will not able to take pictures from Messenger.
   • You can tap “Cancel” to return to the conversation without taking a photo.
8. 
   8
   Tap the photo icon to add an existing image. This button will bring up a display of your photo library. Tap a photo then tap “Send” to add the photo to your conversation.

   • You may be prompted to grant the app permission to access the Photos app. Tap “Allow” or you will not be able to add pictures to Messenger.
   • After selecting a photo, you may also select “Edit”. This will open a quick edit interface where you can add text by tapping the photo and entering text or add emojis by tapping the keyboard toggle button below the picture.
9. 
   9
   Tap the smiley face icon to add a “sticker”. This button will bring up a list of downloaded stickers. Stickers are similar to emojis but often have different styles and animations. Select your sticker style from the bottom left and tap a sticker to automatically send it.

   • You can also download new sticker sets by tapping the “+” icon in the bottom right of the sticker interface.
10. 
    10
    Tap the “GIF” button to add an animated GIF. This button will bring up a list of popular GIFs and a search bar. Entering a search term will display matching GIF options. Tap any GIF to immediately add it to your conversation.
11. 
    11
    Tap the microphone icon to record a voice message. This button will bring up a “Record” button. Tap and hold the “Record” button and begin speaking. When you release the button your recording will be added to your conversation

    • You may be prompted to allow Messenger to access your microphone. Tap “Allow” or you will not be able to use this feature.
    • You can drag your finger off the record button before releasing to cancel the recording.
12. 
    12
    Tap the location pin to send a location. This button will bring up a window with a map. You can tap the map to drop a pin on a location or use the search bar to look for nearby places. After dropping the pin, tap “Send” to send the location of the pin.
13. 
    13
    You may be prompted to allow Messenger to access your location. Tap “Allow” or you will not be able to use this feature.
14. 
    14
    Tap the 3 dots to add third party chat options. This button will bring up a window to browse and download other chatting options, including extra GIF keyboards, camera filters, and more.
15. 
    15
    Tap the thumbs-up icon to “like” a message. Tapping this button will immediately send a thumbs up icon to your conversation recipient.
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Community Q&A

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• Question

  How do I erase old messages?

  

  Community Answer

  Go to settings and click "delete conversation".

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• Question

  Can these messages be seen on my Facebook account?

  

  Community Answer

  The messages will show with your private messages messages on Facebook, but will not post to your timeline.

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• Question

  How can I tell if it has been read?

  

  Community Answer

  There will be a small icon of the person whom you are talking to by your latest message.

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  Thank you for your feedback.
  If How.com.vn has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission.Support How.com.vn

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