Skip to main content

Facebook Messenger iOS app now lets you share Dropbox files from within the app

It’s easy to drop recently-taken photos and videos into your Facebook Messenger chats directly from the camera roll, but it was less easy to share Dropbox files. This previously required you to open the Dropbox app first to grab a link to share.

The latest update to the iOS Facebook Messenger app streamlines the process by allowing you to drop any file into a chat just by tapping the ‘…’ button.

Videos and images—including animated GIFs—will be displayed directly in your chats. For everything else, tapping Open will bring recipients to the Dropbox mobile app, where they can preview and save files. It’s a quick, simple way to share vacation snapshots, home movies, and laugh-worthy memes with any of the 900 million people using Messenger.

The update, announced in a blog post, is one of a number of steps the company is taking to add functionality to the chat app. Facebook last year added automatic prompting to share photos of friends, along with the ability to request an Uber car from within a chat.

Code found within the app suggests that Facebook also intends to allow person-to-person payments from within Messenger.

Facebook Messenger is a free download from iTunes. If you already have it installed, the update should roll out automatically over the next few days, but can also be manually updated from the App Store. Additionally, quitting and restarting the app often triggers an update.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


Ben Lovejoy's favorite gear

Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications