Facebook Updates 'Paper' App With Birthdays, Events, Photo Comments and More

Facebook has updated its news creation and curation app Paper with birthdays, events, group updates, photo comments and much more, filling in the app with features from the "main" Facebook app that users have requested since its debut.

Thanks again for your feedback on Paper. We've been working to build features you've asked for, and we're excited to share version 1.1. Here's the scoop:

- Birthdays and events: Never miss a chance to celebrate! Just tap the notifications globe and scroll down to see important dates ahead.

- Photo comments: When words aren't enough, now you can add photos to comments to show how you feel.

- Group updates: Don't miss posts from your favorite groups. Swipe down to open the Main Menu. Tap the More Options icon to the right of the Search box. When you see your groups, check the new unread counts to catch up on the posts you've missed.

- New story buttons: To keep up with the latest stories in a section in fullscreen view, or to catch the newest stories in the next section, tap the new story arrows when they appear.

- More article covers: 9 new article covers join our collection, making easier to spot your favorite sources on Paper. Keep an eye out for Fox News, Bloomberg News, Mashable, FT, kottke, Popular Science, The Hollywood Reporter, Vanity Fair and Hacker News.

- Basic accessibility: All of your sections now support basic accessibility features, and we're working to extend accessibility throughout the app.

In addition, Paper product manager Michael Reckhow tells The Verge that despite Facebook's plans to strip Messenger out of its main Facebook app, the Paper product team does not have plans to remove messaging from its app, saying that the team wishes to keep the app independent from the goals and strategies of the main Facebook app.

Paper isn't the only app Facebook has been working on updates for, as the company yesterday announced a new feature called Nearby Friends for its main app. Similar to Apple's Find My Friends, the optional feature allows users to see if their friends are nearby so that they can meet up.

Paper - stories from Facebook is available for free in the App Store. [Direct Link]

Facebook is available for free on the App Store. [Direct Link]