Facebook updated their Android messenger-User will no longer need a Facebook account in order to use the app
This week Facebook updated its Messenger app for Android so you don’t need a Facebook login to use it. All you have to do is sign up with your cell phone number and you can text away using Facebook’s much more reliable service.
Everyone seems to be saying the Facebook Messenger update is the latest attempt to destroy traditional texting, which already feels rather archaic after 20 years.
You can create a Messenger account with just your name and phone number, and start messaging your mobile contacts.
When non-Facebook users sign up, the app will suck in their contacts. Then they can be selected by name to start a message or group message thread. The expanded reach will help Facebook challenge SMS as well as third-party free texting apps like Pinger and WhatsApp, which we’ve heard Facebook has been considering acquiring. Messenger for Android will be free and for now will show zero ads, giving it an advantage over similar communication apps that are paid or ad-supported. If Facebook did end up acquiring a messaging app, it could potentially be operated independently as a paid, customizable counterpart to Messenger. Alternatively, if WhatsApp turned down its offers, this could be Facebook’s plan to steamroll it. At the very least it confirms Facebook’s interest in expanding its footprint in messaging.
The new feature will go live in India, Indonesia, Australia, Venezuela, and South Africa today, with other countries to follow shortly after.
You can download Facebook Messenger for Android from the Play store.