How to Chat Using Facebook Messenger App on iOS
Download and open Messenger from the App Store., Sign in to your Facebook account., Tap “Allow” enable notifications for Messenger., Tap the “Home” button to browse your recent conversations., Tap on a contact or group chat to view the...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Download and open Messenger from the App Store.
Tap “Install” and then “Open” once the installation completes. -
Step 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. , 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., 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. , 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. , 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. , Messenger will display the page contents without leaving the app.
Tap “Back” to return to your conversation. , 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. , 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. ,, This field is located at the bottom of the conversation window. , This button will only send entered text.
Other tools in the toolbar will be sent automatically when they are selected. , 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. , 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. , 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. , 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. , 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. , 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. , 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. , Tap “Allow” or you will not be able to use this feature. , This button will bring up a window to browse and download other chatting options, including extra GIF keyboards, camera filters, and more. , Tapping this button will immediately send a thumbs up icon to your conversation recipient. -
Step 3: Tap “Allow” enable notifications for Messenger.
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Step 4: Tap the “Home” button to browse your recent conversations.
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Step 5: Tap on a contact or group chat to view the conversation.
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Step 6: Tap a picture to view it full-sized.
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Step 7: Tap a URL or link to view it directly from the app.
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Step 8: Tap the “New Message” button and enter the name of a contact.
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Step 9: Alternately
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Step 10: tap the search bar and enter a name to search for contacts.
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Step 11: Tap a name to start a conversation.
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Step 12: Select the “Type a message...” field and enter your message.
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Step 13: Tap the “Send” button on the right of the bottom toolbar.
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Step 14: Tap the “Aa” or smiley face grid to toggle between keyboards.
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Step 15: Tap the camera icon to take a picture.
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Step 16: Tap the photo icon to add an existing image.
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Step 17: Tap the smiley face icon to add a “sticker”.
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Step 18: Tap the “GIF” button to add an animated GIF.
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Step 19: Tap the microphone icon to record a voice message.
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Step 20: Tap the location pin to send a location.
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Step 21: You may be prompted to allow Messenger to access your location.
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Step 22: Tap the 3 dots to add third party chat options.
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Step 23: Tap the thumbs-up icon to “like” a message.
Detailed Guide
Tap “Install” and then “Open” once the installation completes.
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. , 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., 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. , 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. , 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. , Messenger will display the page contents without leaving the app.
Tap “Back” to return to your conversation. , 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. , 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. ,, This field is located at the bottom of the conversation window. , This button will only send entered text.
Other tools in the toolbar will be sent automatically when they are selected. , 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. , 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. , 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. , 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. , 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. , 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. , 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. , Tap “Allow” or you will not be able to use this feature. , This button will bring up a window to browse and download other chatting options, including extra GIF keyboards, camera filters, and more. , Tapping this button will immediately send a thumbs up icon to your conversation recipient.
About the Author
Jeffrey Murray
Creates helpful guides on lifestyle to inspire and educate readers.
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