Facebook Messenger reportedly adding mobile payments and ‘Secret Chats’ to the messaging app

After giving Messenger its own virtual assistant, Facebook is now looking to build upon the platform by bringing even more features to their popular messaging app.

Privacy is a hot topic in tech and news outlet The Information claims to have seen some code for Messenger that reveals Facebook’s plans to bring “Secret Chats” to the app. It’s not immediately clear what that entails, but it’s being guessed that encryption will play a big part. We think giving the app the ability to password protect specific chats would also be a neat trick, especially given an influx of devices that sport fingerprint sensors.

Building upon the ability to send money to friends or family within the app, Facebook could now be looking to compete with Apple Pay and Android Pay using Messenger as their go-to for mobile payments. Being able to make in-store purchases using the app was the other feature included in the leak, although exact details remain scarce. We can’t help but wonder what kind of incentive Facebook Messenger will offer given both Android and iOS both have their own mobile payments solutions, but options are always nice.

Facebook has constantly been putting work into Messenger to ensure it’s the best possible messaging experience it can be. Most recently, Messenger received a full Material Design overhaul on Android, something enthusiasts have been clamoring for since Lollipop debuted last year.