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Facebook has hired high-profile Indian executive Anand Chandrasekaran for top strategic role of Messenger. Chandrasekaran has previously led mobile and search operations at Yahoo, and held similar positions at top Indian companies.

Chandrasekaran will oversee global strategies and partnerships for Facebook's Messenger. The move comes at time when Facebook is increasingly focusing on expanding Messenger’s mobile features. 

Chandrasekaran is a big name in the industry with expertize in mobile products. He served as the senior director of mobile and search products at Yahoo between 2011 and 2014. Chandrasekaran also brings to Facebook his experience with the Indian market.

Chandrasekaran quit Yahoo to join Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecom operator by subscriber count. During his 13 months stay at the company, Bharti Airtel launched music and mobile payments services. He later joined Snapdeal, one of India’s top ecommerce companies as its chief product officer. Snapdeal's franchise, consisting of Freecharge and Exclusively among others, sees over one million daily transactions.

"They say the best journeys bring you home. We embarked on one 2.5 years ago, and it has been nothing short of incredible - I am super excited to share that building on the learning and experiences - I am joining Facebook to work on Facebook Messenger platform. Really looking forward to working with Ime, David, Stan, John and the team to listen and learn and help build on the momentum," Chandrasekaran wrote. 

"Core to every major platform I've worked on is a belief that technology should help level the playing field for all - something that is at the heart of Facebook and Messenger," said Chandrasekaran.

"It's hard not to look back - the past couple of years have been the most intense, humbling and incredible periods I've experienced professionally living in India and being a part of Snapdeal / Freecharge and Bharti Airtel. 'Going native' and re-connecting with the country you grew up in is something I didn't imagine I would get to do, let alone witnessing the entrepreneurial energy that's driving India forward. I saw first hand how it became cool to build code and products that solve problems - the heart of what makes the Valley and other ecosystems what it is," he added.

Mobile is increasingly important for Messenger as Facebook finds new avenues for its chat platform. The company has added capabilities such as a digital assistant ‘M,’ and the ability to send and receive money. At its developer conference, Facebook announced bots for Messenger, which would allow businesses to automate responses and some services.

But more importantly, the company has also been trying to make it easier for users to make use of Messenger. In the recent months, Facebook has positioned Messenger as the de facto text messaging app on Android phones, and also enabled them to use Messenger without a Facebook account.

Chandrasekaran’s experience with India could prove instrumental in Facebook’s further expansion in the country. India is Facebook’s second largest market with over 155 monthly active users. Over 90 percent of Facebook’s users in India access the service on their mobile phones.

Apple's new operating system may let you order an Uber with Siri and other fancy things, but let's be serious: It's all about the new and improved Messages.

Apple has given the once tired app a complete overhaul, complete with GIFs, full screen effects and predictive emoji. And stickers. Thousands of stickers for you to use, rather than needing to form complete sentences.

The new release has been embraced by a number of Australian developers and brands. Clara Reeves, president of Hipster Whale, the Melbourne gaming studio that created mobile arcade hopper game Crossy Road, told Mashable the stickers were a perfect extension for the game's marketing efforts. 

"Anything that brings social and sharing integration into the game is great, because it lets people make it their own," she said.

If you download Crossy Road, you will have free access to the sticker pack.

Reeves said the team will also potentially integrate the stickers as a mechanism back into the game. Players could be rewarded with additional stickers or animation in new levels, for example, or the studio could release special stickers to coincide with new game themes.

"Players have always enjoyed the characters in Crossy Roads, so being able to bring them into Messenger is just something fun we wanted to do," she added. "I think it's always really cool — just watching people with a new tool — we'll see some creative and funny things created with iMessage and stickers."

If you take your patriotism super seriously, here are five of the best local-made sticker packs for you to download straight away.

1. Crossy Road

Crossy Road was created in Melbourne, but it's now made it all the way to Disney. In 2016, the company brought out Disney Crossy Road and has won a slew of gaming prizes along the way. If you're an addict, your dedication can now be shared with friends through endless sticker use.

2. Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Yes, it's a New Zealand-made film, but who won't find the need for a sticker about the "skux life?" Only eggs, probably.

3. Qantas

Qantas is one of the first local corporates to jump on the sticker trend, but you have to admit, that roo is pretty cute.

4. Cricket

Cricket. It's the Australian past time. What more do you want?

5. Fruit Ninja 

Created by Brisbane-based studio Halfbrick, the mobile game Fruit Ninja has been a smashing international success. One minute you're slicing fruit in Fruitasia and and the next you're sharing character stickers with mates to properly convey the devastation of a low score. Fruit Ninja 100 percent of the time, basically.