Facebook Messenger Adds New Features for Halloween, Including AR Masks and 360 Backgrounds

Like everything in 2020, Halloween is going to look a lot different this time around, with limitations on how people can participate, and take part in the normally significant community event.

The advantage of that could be that you won’t have to put in so much effort with your Halloween costume – and if you really can’t be bothered dressing up, Facebook’s got you, with some new Messenger features that’ll enable you to look ‘spooky’ without having to do anything more than tap on a visual effects button within a Messenger video call.

Yes, Facebook has this week revealed its Halloween additions for Messenger, which include frightening AR filters:

Disturbing 360-degree backgrounds:

And scary stickers:

And they could be key additions in 2020 – with more people connecting via Messenger video than ever before due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, the visual enhancements and tools could see even more usage this year, showcasing Facebook’s advanced effects and features.

Facebook added 360-degree backgrounds for Messenger video calls back in April, and while its AR filters have been available for some time, as you can see here, Facebook does seem to have gone to increased effort to provide more immersive, detailed digital enhancements this time around. The use of group video chats has increased by 10x in 2020, so definitely, you can expect these tools to see significant usage over the next few weeks.

So, now Facebook’s got you covered for Halloween – now all you need to do is come up with a themed pun for your name (always great), then you’re all set. No need for fake blood that stains your skin, or that hairspray smell that gets right up into your sinuses, though hopefully, people will also still find ways to share candy and connect with their local communities in some form.