If Facebook can convince every one of its 1.09 billion daily active users to install Messenger, it suddenly has a third potentially powerful platform along with the social network and WhatsApp, further strengthening its insurmountable global reach.Īt that point Facebook can attempt to use Messenger for more than just chat. Since it started doing so, Messenger use has jumped from 200 million to 900 million users in two years.
Meanwhile Messenger users are more than likely to be persuaded to hit that button to upgrade to a full Facebook account.įor Facebook to do more with Messenger and make it a service users cannot avoid, it is imperative to get as many people logged into the service and using the dedicated app as possible, which is why it is closing off access to chat via other routes. Should people stop using Facebook, they might continue using WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram. The company’s siloed app platform play is smart because it means it has more irons in the fire at any one time. Facebook Messenger has the peer pressure of being the chat system of Facebook and the billion or so users on its site, but can now act as a gateway into the Facebook experience for those who have resisted joining the social network.įacebook’s end goal is to reach as many people as possible by any route available. Photograph: Andre Penner/APĬhat apps are only as good as the number of people using them.
The more users the better, as far as Facebook is concerned. It also gives Facebook another phone number and personal data on another user.
It means users who don’t want a Facebook account can still chat with their Facebook-using friends. The Facebook app for Android is a giant of an app that takes up significant system resources to provide you with a myriad of. Messenger is the hardest sell as a separate service from the main Facebook social network, but in June last year the company made it so that a user could sign up and use Messenger with just a phone number. It’s still a standalone app, and you don’t have to have anything to do with the Facebook social network to use Instagram, which means it can attract users who don’t want Facebook but do want to share photos. The overlap between WhatsApp users and Facebook users is likely very high in the West, but outside of the developed world WhatsApp has excellent penetration with users who do not use Facebook.įacebook also has Instagram, which is not as far removed from the core Facebook experience as WhatsApp, but started life as a separate photo-sharing social network and only recently became more tightly integrated with Facebook. However, it also targets users who are not interested in Facebook. On the one hand the dedicated chat app competes directly with Facebook Messenger, and potentially the low-level Facebook social network experience. On Facebook, keeping up with the people who matter most is easy. Communicate privately, watch your favourite content, buy and sell items or just spend time with your community. It’s the same reason Facebook bought WhatsApp. Connect with friends, family and people who share the same interests as you. This might seem an odd decision on the surface, but viewed through the lens of a company that wants to spread its tendrils as far and wide as possible, it makes sense. The real reason that Facebook is pushing chat into its Messenger is to create another platform or silo from which Facebook can access you as a user.
You cannot access your Facebook direct messages from this app, but rather, you'll have to go the extra mile and download Facebook's fully independent Messenger app (also on Uptodown) in order to check your Facebook messages from your device.Facebook and Facebook Messenger are two of the most popular non-native apps on Android, alongside other Facebook-owned apps Instagram and WhatsApp. Albeit, it does come with a single (but significant) setback. You can upload photos and videos straight from your gallery directly onto your account.įacebook for Android is truly a must-have app for anyone that's pretty active on the world's #1 social network. One of the best features of this official Facebook app is the option to share all kinds of content. That said, gaming aside, you'll get all the same updates from friends and family, browse your timeline, upload and save photos, change your status, and comment -the whole lot from anywhere. The only main difference you'll notice is that you can't play Facebook games on it.
Once again, this app is here to simplify your Facebook experience by providing all your favorite features from one spot.Įssentially, this Facebook app has the same features as its original browser version.
Facebook is the official Android app for the iconic original social network par excellence.