The app will now show publicly shared biographical data like the current job and city at the top of the message threads from people you haven’t chatted with before.
Facebook wants to give users of its Messenger app service some clues and background data on people that message them, so they can consider whether to respond or not.
The app will now show publicly shared biographical data like the current job and city at the top of the message threads from people you haven’t chatted with before.
The update started rolling out yesterday on iOS & Android in the US, UK, India and France.
For example, if someone receives a message from someone they are not friends with, Messenger could show that they are a “Machine Operator” from “Seattle”. That info could jog your memory, and perhaps remind of someone you may have met but forgotten about.
Knowing or remembering that you’ve actually met such a person before actually increases your chances of replying, and getting on with the conversation rather than just getting into awkward unwanted conversations.
The app can also pull up this kind of information on existing friends that you have not messaged before. Whether it’s about non-friends or people you’ve already added, Messenger will only show you info that’s public or otherwise visible to you on Facebook, so it doesn’t sidestep privacy controls.
Facebook has been touchy about messages from non-friends in the past, in some cases routing them to the oft-forgotten Other inbox that’s typically filled with spam and weirdos. Most people don’t even know about it, so while it protected people from unwanted advances, it’s also broken.
Facebook says nothing is changing about how the Other inbox works, and you’ve been able to use Messenger to contact non-friends. Still, providing context on who’s pinging you could allow it to be more lenient about what messages hit your main inbox. That includes professional correspondence which probably shouldn’t be hidden.
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