9 Features You Probably Didn't Know About FacebookSocial media websites like Facebook and Twitter are so hard to resist. Currently, Facebook is one of the biggest social media websites on the internet with an active user base of around 2 billion. Although most of the Facebook users are aware of the ever changing options of this social media site, there are some options that are not that known to the general population. Even the most proficient user can be unaware of these potential Facebook functions that can make your life a little bit easier. Go through this article to know some mind-blowing Facebook hacks that will come handy in real life.

1. Post .gif images in Facebook:

This is a fairly new addition to Facebook's news feed. Previously, Facebook news feed didn't support .gif based images. They were concerned that introducing .gifs will turn them into another website like Myspace. But this year, they have bit the bullet and introduced .gifs in their timeline. You have to paste a link of a .gif from somewhere in your status bar to post it.

2. Tag review of your privacy:

Remember that one photo from last night that you don't want to resurface anywhere? Well, guess what? Your stupid friend finally uploaded it and also tagged you there. You can actually prevent that to even come into your timeline. Go to the settings portion again and click on “Timeline and Tagging”. There, you will see questions such as, "Who can add things to my timeline?" And "Review posts friends tag you in before they appear on your timeline?" Now choose the option that suits you best and prevent people from tagging you in unflattering photos.

3. Send Your Profile photo as Emoji:

Facebook's Emoji game has been going strong for over a year or two. But recently they have upped their game by introducing lots of emoticons and stickers. Tuzki, Minions, Gamercats are some popular emoticons used by the younger generation in Facebook. For using these amazing stickers, just click on the smiley emoticon sign in your chat window and you will see lots of cute stickers pre-loaded. You can also search for new emoticons in the Sticker Store (look for the shopping basket sign).

4. Learn the hacks of Facebook Messenger: If you are using the Facebook Messenger app in your smartphone, then there are some cool options that you should know.In the first screenshot, notice the blue circle? If you sent someone a message in Facebook messenger and this circle pops up, that means your message is still sending. If the circle changes back into a circle with a tick that means your message has been sent. If you see the recipient's profile picture within the tiny circle that means he/she has seen your message.

With this app you can also know which friend of yours is using the app and which ones are just browsing through their PC. The people who are using the chat option for their PC has

"web" written beside their name in the "active" tab.

5. Look up random people:

Sometimes you need to search for people who work in the same company as you or go to the same varsity like you for a strictly networking purpose. But it's not an easy task unless you know their full name and details. In case you want to find some people who share their workplace or anything related to you, there is a nifty little Facebook trick that you can use. Go to the Facebook search option and type " Randos at <your company/varsity" and you will get a long list of people who shares the same workplace as you.

6. Facebook as a method of transaction:

This is a fairly new feature of Facebook. Using the $ icon in your chat window, you can send money to your friend via Facebook. For receiving money, you have to add your debit card info and the money will be transferred within a minute. But to actually get the money in real time, you have to wait up to 3 days. The whole process is very secure and has multiple tiers of verification.

7. You can schedule your posts from now on:

This is actually very good news for Facebooks page owners and bloggers. From now on, you can fix the publishing date and time while drafting your statuses and albums. You can also boost your posts by paying money to Facebook. Sponsored ads from Facebook is another recent addition to create a specific user base for your page.

8. Stop creepy people from interacting with you on Messenger:

So you have already stopped those creepy guys from commenting on your photos by adding them in the "restricted" group, but they keep messaging you in the chat every now and then. This relentless pestering is very irritating. Now, thanks to the Facebook authorities, you can actually prevent them from sending you messages forever. Open your chat sidebar and click on "options". You will see a menu like the image above. Click on "advanced settings" and blacklist those people who are bothering you relentlessly on Facebook Messenger.

9. Use Messenger without a prior Facebook Account:

Even if you don't have a Facebook account, you can use the Facebook Messenger. Just download the app from the app store and click on the "Not on Facebook?" option. By simply putting your phone number, initials and a photo you can easily use the messenger option right from your phone.