Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Shutterstock/Romiana Lee

You can be really lazy now when wishing someone a happy birthday on Facebook

It only requires you to reply with a single number.

FACEBOOK IS PRETTY incessant when reminding you about someone’s birthday, sending you both a update and a push notification to remind you.

It’s something that required little thought. Write “happy birthday [insert name here]” and if you were feeling creative, you could add “hope it’s a great day” or a ‘happy birthday x’ video from YouTube (it’s a safe bet to assume every real name you can think of has a happy birthday video dedicated to it, it’s just a matter of picking one).

Now Facebook seems to be reducing the action even further by turning it into an instant reply, specifically replying ’1′ to a SMS message.

The feature is part of Facebook’s SMS notifications, which allow users to interact through text messages. This usually applies to whenever you receive a message, a response to a status update, or if you receive a friend request.

It also allows you to post photos and status updates and is generally used by those who have a limited data plan or are usually in an area with patchy 2G/3G coverage.

So if someone only posts “Happy Birthday” the next time your big day arrives, it’s probably best to assume very little thought or effort went into it.

Still, at least cake will make up for the disappointment.

jBrsZiI Imgur Imgur

Read: Nokia isn’t making phones, but it is making this weird-looking 360-degree camera >

Read: This Dutch bank will let you log into your account using only your voice >

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Author
Quinton O'Reilly
View 9 comments
Close
9 Comments
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
    JournalTv
    News in 60 seconds