WhatsApp is the world’s most popular messaging service, but has Facebook Messenger nipping at its heels.
In fact Statista, a market and consumer data firm, claimed as of October 2018 WhatsApp has 1.5billion active users while Facebook Messenger sits behind at 1.3billion.
WeChat closely follows at 1.058billion.
But it appears Facebook Messenger is hoping to close the gap between itself and WhatsApp by providing users with a reinvigorated design.
A new update is available for the client right now that places an emphasis on chats rather than other services that have become increasingly prominent on the app such as games.
Discussing the roll-out, Facebook said: “Starting today, we’re rolling out a new, simplified version of Messenger: Messenger 4.
“In a recent Messenger study, 7 out of 10 (71 percent) people told us simplicity is the top priority for them in a messaging app.”
The social media giant added the tabs present on Messenger would be drastically reduced from nine to three.
And chats are now more customisable with what Facebook is calling “colour gradients” that can be altered on the fly.
Facebook went on: “To make it easier to find the features you care about, the new Messenger will have three tabs instead of nine.
“Your conversations — both one-to-one and groups — are front and centre in the Chats tab.
“Once you tap into Messenger 4’s People tab, you can find friends, catch up on people’s Stories, and see everyone who is active right now.
“Then you have the Discover tab, where you can connect with businesses to get the latest deals, play Instant Games, book your next vacation, follow the news and more.
“Messenger 4 has another way to personalise your conversations with a small but delightful update to chat customisations called colour gradients.
“With this feature, you can now use multiple colours to customise your chat bubbles in conversations.”
Facebook also revealed it is planning to bring a “Dark Mode” to the popular client and showed a tantalising glimpse of it in action.
Messenger 4 will arrive in “phases”, meaning not all users may be granted access to the new version at the same time.
The American tech giant explained: “Messenger 4 will gradually roll out globally over the coming weeks.
“It can take time to get used to changes in an app you rely on every day, which is why we’re rolling out Messenger 4 in phases.
“We have a handful of new features we’re planning to introduce in the near future, like Dark Mode, a re-skinned interface that cuts down on the glare from your phone.
“So take your time, settle in, and we’ll be back with more soon.”