San Francisco (AFP)
In the absence of real hugs, Facebook will offer the possibility of sending a virtual embrace to its loved ones next week: in these pandemic times, the first social network in the world has decided to widen the range of possible reactions on its platform.
To each of their friends' posts, users can now choose to react using the famous yellow guy, this time hugging a red heart affectionately.
The emoji, supposed to bring some comfort, will be the seventh possible reaction on Facebook, alongside the classics "I like", "I love", "Haha", "Wow", "Sad" and "Grrr" . It has been five years since Facebook added a new one.
The newcomer will be "a way for people to show their support for others in this unprecedented time," said company spokesman Alexandru Voica, citing the Covid-19 epidemic.
"This new reaction will be available worldwide next week and you can use it to react to publications, comments, images, videos and other content on the application and on Facebook.com," he continued.
On the Messenger conversation application, the usual red heart which Internet users can gratify a message can be transformed by a pink and purple heart beating.
Facebook and its messaging applications have experienced a sharp increase in traffic since the start of the pandemic and the implementation of containment measures around the world.
© 2020 AFP