Facebook Messenger will soon be able to notify your closest friends if you are at the gym, movies, or busy driving. The feature has been spotted by a popular reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong, and it works in a similar fashion as the Instagram Threads app’s 'Auto Status’ feature. After giving permission to Threads app to access locations and other services, the app monitors your location, uses an accelerometer to measures how fast you’re moving, and counts your steps to automatically give your friends notifications about your activities.
According to Wong, the ‘Auto Status’ feature won’t show addresses or the name of the exact place but the kind of place you are at, like a restaurant, a theatre, a cafe, or an airport, or the nature of your activity, like driving, biking, or walking. Unlike the Threads app that shares your exact location, the Messenger feature would use an emoji on your Messenger profile pic to show that you’re at the movies, driving or at the gym.
A few media report also suggests that the ‘Auto Status’ feature could also help people initiate online or offline meetups by revealing what friends are up to.
There is no official statement from Facebook as to when this feature would be rolled out in Messenger. We will update you as soon as we have some additional information about the same.
‘We’re always exploring new features to improve your Messenger experience. This feature is still in early development and not externally testing,’ TechCrunch quoted a Facebook Messenger communications representative as saying.
Earlier in March, Facebook rolled out a new design interface for Messenger. The Discover tab, Chatbots, and Instant games are no longer a part of the new design.
