Facebook Messenger Gets Split Payments Feature, Vanish Mode

Image via Facebook

Last year, Meta (Facebook) began testing a new way for users of its Messenger app to share the cost of bills. The feature recently launched for all users in the U.S. on iOS and Android. It’s called Split Payments.

The feature can be used in virtually any scenario where multiple people wish to split the payment on a purchase.

"To use Split Payments, tap the + icon in a group chat and select the payments tab, then tap the Get started button," the company explains. "From there you can split your bill evenly or customize the amount each person owes. Then, enter a personalized message, confirm your payment details, and send the request. Friends who are new to payments in Messenger can easily add payment details to send and receive money."

The following images illustrate how the feature works:

Image via Facebook

Image via Facebook

Split Payments build upon the previously available payment-related features in Messenger that the company has been adding for the past several years. For example, in 2019, Facebook Pay debuted as a way for people to send person-to-person payments, in addition to paying for e-commerce transactions, and making donations to nonprofit causes. Last year, the company added a QR code feature for person-to-person payments.

Though the Messenger app was originally a simple direct message tool for Facebook users to chat with one another, it has come a long way in terms of its uses for commerce and business, from chatbots to payments.

Along with the new Split Payments feature, Meta announced a couple of additional features for Messenger, including new audio features and Vanish Mode.

In the audio department, there are new voice message recording controls that allow users to pause, preview, delete, and continue recording a voice message before sending it. They also increased the duration of voice messages from one minute to 30 minutes.

Image via Facebook

The Vanish Mode feature allows users to send messages that disappear once they’ve been viewed. This applies to text, memes, GIFs, stickers, and reactions.

"To turn on Vanish mode, open an existing chat thread on your mobile device and swipe up," the company says. "Swipe up again, and you’re back to your regular chat."

This feature gives Messenger an ephemeral messaging capability similar to apps like Snapchat, which were designed to give users the ability to send messages that can’t be viewed later. This is essentially a type of privacy setting that some users may prefer, and could actually pull in users who have been otherwise reluctant to use Messenger as their messaging platform of choice.

Messenger already had a reported 1.3 billion users as of last year. By adding more features that users want, Meta may be able to increase retention, despite its Facebook and Instagram products continuing to receive criticism in the media regarding the company’s use of user data and privacy matters.