The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the entire world to stay indoors and support loved ones that don’t live in the same household from afar. These are very tough times, but Facebook is launching a new reaction that can make it a little easier to show how much you care about your loved ones. On the regular Facebook app and website, the new care reaction will take the form of a little round character holding a small heart. It joins the classic thumbs-up, heart, laugher, shock, sadness and anger options that are already available since reactions launched in 2015. Messenger users, meanwhile, can activate a new pinky-purple heart by long-pressing the existing heart reaction.
Alexandru Voica, Facebook’s EMEA Communications Manager for Engineering tweeted “We know this is an uncertain time, and we wanted people to be able to show their support in ways that let their friends and family know they are thinking of them,”. A reaction alone won’t save lives or solve the increasing unemployment crisis. Still, it’s appreciated because Facebook has 2.5 billion monthly active users, and at least some will feel a little better after sharing or seeing this reaction on a post.
On Facebook, we will launch a seventh Reaction alongside the existing six. The new Care Reaction will start rolling out next week globally and you can use it to react to posts, comments, images, videos, or other content on the app and https://t.co/t0PZL74vjg pic.twitter.com/PkpbCoPc4F
— Alexandru Voica (@alexvoica) April 17, 2020
