• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, April 7, 2016

Facebook Messenger has surpassed 900 million monthly active users, the social giant said Thursday. That’s up from 800 million in January.

Hoping to hasten its arrival at 1 billion MAUs, Facebook is rolling out several new Messenger features, including Links and Codes, which are simple ways for people to begin conversations with other people and businesses.

“Since traditional phone books are almost obsolete, we're making it easier for you to find the people (and businesses) that matter to you and be able to start conversations immediately,” Facebook says in an official blog post.

In order to start a conversation with a person or business, users can now scan a unique code they have been given. This can be done in person -- standing side-by-side with someone -- or virtually. No prior connections are needed.

Users and businesses can find their individual Codes in the settings tab of their Messenger app.

Meanwhile, Messenger Links and Usernames are personalized links that users can share anywhere online -- from an email signature to a Web site. For users, these new features are designed to make it easier to be contacted via Messenger.

For Facebook, the new features are part of a broader effort to grow Messenger into a service on par with its flagship app. Just this week, the social giant announced plans to prominently place a video tab right in Messenger.

Boosting its business functionality, Facebook has also begun to subtly suggest that Messenger users chat with specific businesses. By the second quarter of the year, the social giant reportedly plans to begin putting ads directly into Facebook Messenger.

Thanks to their significant reach in more than 20 countries, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp stand alone as “global powerhouse" chat apps, per eMarketer.

By comScore’s count, Facebook Messenger actually surpassed YouTube’s app in terms of consumer reach last year. By 2018, the number of messaging app users worldwide will reach 2 billion -- representing 80% of smartphone users, eMarketer expects.