Love BlackBerry Messenger? If so, you’ll want to take a seat, because the folks at BlackBerry just announced some new BBM features that you’ll want to be aware of.
The next BBM release will include a Timed Messages feature, which is similar to what happens when you share something in Snapchat. The Timed Messages feature will let you set a timer for how long pictures and messages can be viewed. The message will be opened when the recipient touches and holds on the chat. As with Snapchat, the sender will be notified if the recipient takes a screenshot of a Timed Message.
The second new feature coming to BBM is Message Retraction. As its name suggests, the feature will allow you to remove a message from a BBM chat after its been sent. The feature only works in one-on-one chats and can only be used on messages, not with photos. BlackBerry also notes that Message Retraction doesn’t prevent your recipient from taking a screenshot of your message.
These new features are currently in testing with Android and BBM beta users and will be included in the version 2.5 BBM update for iOS, Android and BlackBerry 10. BlackBerry says that that update is “coming very, very soon.” You can see the new features in action down below.
These sound like nice little additions to BBM. They’re definitely a bit Snapchat-like, but hey, I’m sure that BlackBerry wouldn’t mind if it stole a few Snapchat users and converted them to full-time BBMers with this update.
