Facebook on Tuesday announced it has begun rolling out a caller ID feature for its Messenger app.
Announcing the new feature on Facebook, David Marcus, Facebook Vice President of Messaging, said “Today we’ve started rolling out what I like to call ‘caller ID for messaging’. Now you’ll have context about the people contacting you on Messenger with a bigger photo and more details about how you’re related, and much more.”
The new feature will let Messenger users know more about the person who is trying to connect with them. In addition to a profile photo, the Messenger app will now show publicly shared biographical info, including job title and current city, right at the top of the message threads from Facebook users you have not chatted with before.
The new feature is rolling out for users of iOS and Android versions of Messenger in the US, Britain, India, and France.
The launch of the new feature follows the release of Facebook’s Android dialer app dubbed ‘Hello’ which offers users more information on who is calling them even if they do not have the number saved on their handsets.
The new app works by syncing with the user’s contact list saved on the handset and the Facebook account from where it pulls the contact details and other info of Facebook users who are calling.
Users can also can also search for people or businesses on the app and call them with a tap, provided they have made their number public on Facebook. They also have the option to block unwanted calls either by typing a specific number to screen or by selecting the option to stop calls from commonly blocked numbers, with blocked calls being directed straight to voicemail.
The social networking giant also recently announced global roll-out of free video calling feature in its Messenger app which allows users to make a video call for free by tapping on the video icon at the top right corner of the chat screen.
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