Facebook says that, for the next few days, it will be notifying people that if they wish to continue sending out mobile message, they'll have to download the Messenger app.
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" As we've stated, our goal is to focus advancement efforts on making Messenger the best mobile messaging experience possible and prevent the confusion of having separate Facebook mobile messaging experiences," a Facebook spokeswoman said Tuesday in a written statement.
" Messenger is utilized by more than 200 million individuals every month, and we'll keep working to make it a much more appealing way to get in touch with individuals."
In April, Facebook revealed the change was coming. It has been rolled out to Android and iOS users in parts of Europe and elsewhere considering that then, and is now pertaining to the United States.
In November, after Facebook released Messenger 3.0, the business discontinued messaging in the core Facebook app for individuals who already had Messenger.
Fortunately for people still utilizing just the Facebook app is that they'll be able to message buddies in much the exact same way they do now. Once both apps are set up, tapping the "message" icon on the Facebook app will merely send the user to Messenger. They'll be able to return via a "return to Facebook" icon.
The popularity of apps like Messenger and WhatsApp, which Facebook purchased in February, are helping alter the rules for texting. Wireless prepares that charge for texting are becoming a thing of the past in the United States, though they remain the norm in locations like India, South America and Africa, where WhatsApp has actually become a popular, almost complimentary alternative.