Facebook has announced that soon downloading its new Messenger App will eventually be the only way to chat on Facebook via mobile. By the end of the week, messaging will no longer be available in the company’s iOS and Android apps, which means users who want to reach out and poke someone will have to download the company’s Messenger app.
“In the next few days, we’re continuing to notify more people that if they want to send and receive Facebook messages, they’ll need to download the Messenger app. As we’ve said, our goal is to focus development efforts on making Messenger the best mobile messaging experience possible and avoid the confusion of having separate Facebook mobile messaging experiences…” noted FB in a direct statement to TechCrunch.
User responses have been somewhat more mixed; some applaud the more streamlined service, while others bemoan yet another app eating up already taxed storage in smart phones.
Messenger, however, has a future far beyond enabling communication and could provide a new revenue stream for Facebook.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has recently indicated the app will also overlap with Facebook’s overall ambition to expand into payments. Earlier this year David Marcus left his post as the president of PayPal to head-up Messenger.
“The payments piece will be a part of what will help drive the overall success and help people share with each other and interact with businesses,” he noted in the company Q2 earnings call.
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