Facebook Messenger Adds Video Calling, Because Why Not

Over the past several months, Facebook has retooled its messenger app to do a lot more than just send one-liners to your friends – from allowing real-time customer service chats to a payment feature. The company’s latest update to the app aims to take conversations to the next level with video calling.

Mashable reports that Facebook Messenger’s latest update will allow iOS and Android users to chat face-to-face with their Facebook friends.

The free feature, which will rollout in 18 markets today and others in the coming months, works with a 3G, 4G or Wi-Fi connection simply by tapping the video camera icon inside the messenger app.

Video calling in Messenger is available for calls made from a mobile phone to another mobile phone, even if one person is on iOS and the other person is on an Android device.

Stan Chudnovky, Facebook Messenger’s head of product, tells Mashable that the company’s foray into video calling was an easy decision.

The company says the video calling feature creates a “fast, reliable and high-quality” Messenger experience.

The video calling feature for Messenger comes just a week after Facebook launched a new app called “Hello” that effectively uses all the info Facebook has about its users to help you decide whether to answer/ignore/block incoming calls.

Facebook Messenger gets in your face, rolls out video chat [Mashable]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist