Like it or not, you’ll soon have to rely solely on Facebook Messenger to chat with your friends on your smartphone. Facebook is set to drop the option to allow users to chat through the main app on iOS and Android. The news was broken by a spokesperson speaking to Mashable. In fact, the company has already started notifying users of the same in parts of Europe. Those users will have two weeks to download Facebook Messenger before the service expires on the main app.
Facebook will soon be updating its main app so that users going to messaging will be redirected to Facebook Messenger. Although you shouln’t be loosing sleep over it just yet, since Facebook will be sending out tons of notifications and alerts before jumping the ship. The company has started the rollout in some parts, but should cover the entire globe sooner or later. It’s also not known at the moment whether the same would be followed on Windows Phone, since the official Facebook app for that platform has been designed by Microsoft instead.
Why it’s being done, isn’t exactly known. Perhaps, Facebook is trying to increase the penetration of its Messenger app, but then that’ll lead to some in-house competition with WhatsApp. Eventually it’ll be a win win for the company.
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