Messenger introduces 360-degree photos, HD quality videos

In a bid to visually appeal to its consumer base, Messenger announced the introduction of 360 degree photos and HD quality videos on the app.

"Visuals are the best way to add delightful expression and meaningful emotions to your chats. Earlier this year we shared that the ability to send photos, videos, stickers and GIFs in Messenger is extremely popular and now we are continuing to make these features richer, sharper, and better than ever. That's why today, we are introducing the ability to send 360 degree photos in Messenger," the company's product managers Sean Kelly and Hagen Green wrote in a blog post.

The new 360 degree and panoramic photos will help users capture intricate details such as landscapes, ocean view from a hotel room. Furthermore, the company also announced that users will be able to share high definition (HD) quality videos straight to Messenger.

To try out these new features, users will have to update their Messenger app to the latest version.

To use the 360 degree photos in Messenger, the user may set their phone camera to panorama and snap a photo or capture a 360 degree photo using a 360 photo app or camera. He/she may then share it in the app as a normal photo. From there, the image will be converted into an immersive photo that the receivers can experience on their mobile by tapping and dragging the photo or by moving their phone, and on Messenger.com by clicking and dragging.

To share HD videos, a user can either share a video saved on the phone from their newsfeed, or even share a video from one message thread to another.

Both 360 degree photos and HD videos are easy to identify in Messenger. A compass icon will appear on the right-hand side of a panoramic photo. The videos will also be easily identifiable with a HD or SD marker. Users can even change the quality right from the marker on the lower right side when in full screen mode.

360 degree photos are available all over the world on both iOS and Android, while HD quality videos are available in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK and the US on iOS and Android.