BBM for Android and iOS updated to bring Find Friends feature

The BBM update for Android and iOS (iPhone) gets the Find Friends feature that can search a smartphone's contact list and find people who are already using the BBM app. The Find Friends feature also allows users to send people an invite to join the BBM contact list. Notably, the new feature on BBM for Android and iOS also allows users to send an invite to people who are not on BBM app via an email or SMS.

Jeff Gadway, head of product and brand marketing for BBM notes on official blog post, "We know how important it is for you to connect with your closest friends, family and colleagues. With this update, we've made it easier to find and invite them quickly and easily. You're always in control of your contact lists."

The blog post further writes that the new BBM app update might take over 24 hours to show up. For those unaware, the BBM app allows users to exchange texts, voice notes and pictures with friends and others. It also offers group chat. Users need to sign-in with a BlackBerry ID following which a PIN is allocated to them, in a manner similar to BlackBerry Messenger on BlackBerry. Users can then add friends by sharing their PIN with friends via SMS, email and social networks in addition to QR codes.

Recently, the popular Canadian smartphone brand confirmed that BBM for Android-powered handsets running the OS version 2.3 Gingerbread will be rolled out in February. The messaging service was earlier only available for devices running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or higher.

It has been previously reported that as early as February, BlackBerry may introduce the missing BBM Voice and BBM Channels features on both the Android and iOS platforms.

Additionally, the Canadian mobile maker revealed recently that it does not have plans to launch the popular BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) app on Windows Phone-based smartphones.