Luckily that is changing as the Facebook Messenger team has updated its Windows 10 applications. This is a long-awaited and welcome release that adds some important features to the app. Users can now bump Facebook Messenger to version 96.2194.9505. The update introduces a new design UI for logging in. Elsewhere, Windows 10 users can now finally use the chat search feature that has been on other platforms for a long time. Another new feature is a Data saver tool that prevents automatic media downloaded through the data network.

Full Messenger changelog

Renewed the layout during the log-in Introduced the chat search Renewed settings Introduced the “Data saver” function to avoid the automatic downloading of the media with the data network New options to choose when Messenger is authorized to download media Now you can add the mobile number to use with Messenger Now you can create a new Messenger account from the settings Improvements in managing chat with Facebook pages

To get the latest and greatest Facebook Messenger for Windows 10, you can head to the Microsoft Store here. It is worth pointing out the Messenger app on Windows is still a beta experience. However, it comes with the core app features, such as:

Get notifications so you never miss a message See when you have messages waiting for you with a live tile Send photos, videos, GIFs and more Bring your conversations to life with stickers Know when people have seen your messages Create groups for the people you message most—name them and set group photos Forward messages or photos to people who weren’t in the conversation Search for people and groups to quickly get back to them Facebook Messenger for Windows 10 Receives Long Awaited Update - 98Facebook Messenger for Windows 10 Receives Long Awaited Update - 14Facebook Messenger for Windows 10 Receives Long Awaited Update - 57Facebook Messenger for Windows 10 Receives Long Awaited Update - 68Facebook Messenger for Windows 10 Receives Long Awaited Update - 11