Facebook disabled some Messenger features in Europe. Here's an (incomplete) list.
Users of Facebook's Messenger and Instagram in Europe started seeing a warning message on Wednesday.
"Some features Not Available," the message in my Instagram read. "This is to respect new rules for messaging services in Europe. We're working to bring them back."
There was no link or any way to get more information in the warning message about what features were not available, so we asked Facebook what's up.
“We’re updating our messaging services in response to new privacy rules in Europe and notifying people directly of these changes. While some messaging features will be unavailable, the majority of features on Messenger, Instagram and Facebook will continue to be available," a Facebook spokesperson told Mashable.
The company said it can't provide a full list of features that are unavailable, "since some of them will be coming back very soon." However, Facebook sent us a list of examples, which include Polls, chat nicknames and personalized replies on Messenger, as well as Polls and stickers in Instagram DMs.
Facebook documents for developers mention a few other features that may not work properly or at all, including media attachments (other than images) not showing up, the typing indicator being invisible, and some plugins not working.
Oddly, even though I've seen the warning message in both Instagram and Facebook, I was still able to create a poll in Messenger, for example. Perhaps Facebook has already brought some of the features back as promised.
In any case, Facebook says it's "still determining the best way to bring these features back."
"It takes time to rebuild products in a way that work seamlessly for people and also comply with new regulation," the spokesperson said.
The privacy rules in Europe that Facebook is referring to were laid down in 2002, and are now coming into effect. They cover all 30 countries in the European Economic Area (EEA). Facebook developers can find a detailed overview of the changes here.
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Topics Facebook
Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.
