As a social platform, Facebook often gets creative and launches new fun features that bring people together. Facebook Messenger’s features add a little cheer to your text-based conversations, especially during the holiday season.
Unlike an older feature on Facebook that makes it easy for friends to send gift cards and real gifts, the Messenger gift is digital and won’t cost you anything!
If you’re looking to have a bit of fun with your messages, this article teaches you how to make and send a gift on Messenger, plus it offers neat tricks to help you feel closer to the ones you love.
How to Make A Gift on Messenger
Sending a gift in Messenger is simple once you learn how to do it. Essentially, what you’re doing is adding an effect that wraps any message you type in pretty wrapping paper with a bow. Here’s how to do it.
- Open the “Facebook Messenger” app from your iPhone or Android device.
- Select the “recipient” of your message, then tap on the “message box” to type your message. Be sure you insert the message first or the present icon won’t appear in the selection.
- Press the “down arrowhead” at the very bottom of your screen to close the keyboard without sending the message.
- Tap the “magnifying glass” icon found on the right side of the message box. The “smiley face” icon becomes a “magnifying glass” once text is typed.
- Select the “star” icon (Effects), then choose the pink “gift” icon and your message gets sent automatically.
- The recipient sees the “gift” icon. Upon tapping it, the top flies off and your message appears.
How to Unsend a Gift Message
If you’ve tapped the present icon and sent a message you weren’t ready to submit, you can un-send it.
- Open “Facebook Messenger” and tap on the “recipient’s messages.”
- Long-press the “gift” icon and choose “Remove” in the lower right-hand corner.
- Select “Unsend” and confirm it when the prompt appears.
When un-sending on FB Messenger, the recipient receives a notification that you retracted a message, but they won’t know what it said.
Gift Option not Appearing in Facebook Messenger
If for some reason, you don’t see the gift option, or it just isn’t sending, there are a few things to check.
As stated previously, if you haven’t typed anything in the text box, the gift won’t appear in the ‘Effects’ folder. Try typing your message first, then follow the instructions above.
- Confirm that you typed text in the message box first.
- Confirm you are not sending the message to a group.
- Confirm you are not using a web browser for Messenger.
- Confirm you have the latest Messenger update.
Other Neat Messenger Effects
There are plenty of other effects available to liven up your texts, thanks to Facebook Messenger. Aside from stickers, GIFs, and emojis, the effects options add visual appeal to the messages that you type.
At the time of writing, Messenger offers hearts, confetti, and fire along with your gift-wrapped messages. Following the exact instructions above, type your message, access the effects option (stickers), and tap on the effect you’d like to add.
As you’ve now seen, sending an animated gift message in Messenger is a simple process once you know how to navigate through the options. With a few taps or clicks, you can quickly send your messages wrapped in a gift, requiring the recipient to open it to see what you had to say.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I gift wrap an image?
Unfortunately, no. If you try to gift wrap an image, link, or another sort of attachment, the option won’t appear. The simple act of tapping on an image and tapping ‘Send’ means the image goes straight through to the recipient.
Do I have to have the Facebook app to use Facebook Messenger?
Fortunately no. If the features of the messaging service appeal to you but the social media service doesn’t, you can still send gift-wrapped messages. All you need to do is download the Messenger app and sign in using your login credentials.
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