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Facebook now lets you 'like' messages from your phone

Too busy to tap out a reply acknowledging your friend's Facebook message from your phone? No worries, you can now simply hit a new "like" button.

The new "like" button — which is actually a little "thumbs-up" icon — is available on the Facebook and Messenger apps for iOS and Android, as well as on the mobile Facebook website. (In other words: It's basically everywhere except on the regular desktop Facebook website.)

The "like" button appears in place of the "send" button when the text entry field is empty, leaving you with the option of just tapping it instead of typing something like "ok," "sure," "I hear ya," or whatever else you might write in order to convey that you've read your pal's message but have nothing particularly worthwhile to add to the conversation. Your friend will receive a "sticker" — a whimsical thumbs-up image.

TechCrunch notes that the new button was quietly added in a recent Facebook app update, so make sure you have the latest version of the Facebook and Messenger apps for iOS and Android.

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