By now, you should have updated to the latest version of BBM, which rolled out October 31st, 2014. There were a whole load of new features in the update. Message retraction, timed messages, a better way to request High Quality photos and more. We'll take a closer look at all the features.

The two biggest new features are the Timed Messages and the Message Retraction options. You'll find a new icon next to the smiley face icon when in an individual chat window within BBM. This brings up the timer option when you want to send a timed message. By default, 5 seconds is selected. You can change this by sliding the blue dial. The minimum is 1 second and the maximum is 25 seconds. Once you've selected your preferred duration for showing the message just type out your message or attach 'secret' photo and send as normal. It will then say you have sent a timed message. The recipient is alerted to tell them they have a timed message waiting and they need to tap and hold to view the message. All pretty straightforward stuff. What's interesting about timed messages BBM is that if the recipient decides to take a screenshot of whatever is contained within the timed message, the sender is told that a screenshot has been taken. Whether that's a good or bad thing, you decide, though I'm leaning towards the idea that it's a good thing.

Retracting a message is all pretty straightforward too. It's just a case of tapping and holding the 'accidentally' sent message, then tap Retract Message. It will say on the recipient's side that the message was retracted. What I have found is that you can retract a message even when it has been read, which I find quite strange.

One feature I am enjoying a lot is the new, quick way to request a HD Quality photo. The old way required you to tap and hold the photo, then request for HQ. Now it's just as simple as tapping Request HD, no need to open up a menu. You can also decide whether or not you want to automatically allow HD requests to go through, just toggle the option in the BBM Settings.

All-in-all, great new features that you get to try out free for the next three months. Check out the video above for a hands-on look at these features. Share your thoughts in the comments, too. Have you been using the features? Do you like them? Which one is your favorite?

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