Facebook now lets you say 'Happy Birthday!' by texting a single character

Writing "Happy Birthday!" on a Facebook friend's wall isn't a particularly meaningful way of sending your regards. It is, infamously, the least effort you can make for someone else's birthday.

And now that tiny, shallow gesture just got even easier.

Facebook is now sending SMS reminders of people's birthdays and allowing them to text "1" in response to post "Happy Birthday!" on the friend's wall. 

According to The Next Web, birthday reminders have been included in Facebook's mobile push notifications for some time, which people can get if they don't have a smartphone or choose not to download the app. The Next Web says Facebook has been rolling out this new feature over the last year.

Twitter user @peterknox discovered it yesterday.

In a later tweet, Knox says that his friend gets a message from Facebook every time someone has a birthday, which prompts him to reply to post on their wall.

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