Facebook is offering different ways to celebrate Halloween, which don’t require candy. The social media network rolled out several all-new Halloween features for its users to digitally partake in from now to All Hallows Eve.
Limited Edition Reactions
The Reactions buttons that show up when you click “Like,†allowing you to express emotions—like, love, amusement, surprise, sadness, and anger—have gotten a spooky makeover.
A laughing purple witch now represents the “Haha†emoji. A ghost expresses surprise, and an evil jack o’ lantern is the mad reaction.
Live Masks
Facebook Live has taken off since its introduction in August 2015. The feature allows Facebook users to live-stream video via their Facebook page. Exclusive to celebrities at first, Live was rolled out to all users in May, and it has grown 400%. For Halloween, Facebook users can don different masks while streaming live video.
From the Facebook Live blog:
“We have a number of festive masks for Halloween, including a skull, an evil queen, and two limited-edition masks: a pumpkin and a witch. A selection of masks will continue to be available after Halloween, so you can be creative in your Live videos any time!
Masks will be rolling out over the next few days for people using Facebook Live on iOS in the U.S., U.K., and New Zealand. In the coming months, we will make masks available to people sharing live video via Android devices, and in more countries. Masks will also be available to public figures using Facebook Mentions on iOS, meaning people may see their favorite celebrities trying on masks in their live videos on Facebook.”
And here’s how to create a mask when live-streaming:
- Tap the Live Video icon at the top of your Timeline, News Feed, or Page.
- Once you are live, tap the magic wand in the upper left corner of your screen.
- Select the masks icon in the creative tools tray at the bottom of your screen.
- Scroll through the options and tap on masks to have them automatically appear on your face when you are live.
- To remove the mask, simply scroll left in the mask trap and tap the no mask sign.