Facebook is beginning to herd users of its main mobile app towards Messenger if they want to continue messaging.
According to TechCrunch, the social network giant will stop the ability for users to send and receive messages through the main iOS and Android Facebook app over the next few days.
At this point, the Messages tab will likely become a notifications menu of sorts, as well as a means to jump into the Messenger app.
The company began testing this switch by requiring certain European users to switch to Messenger back in April. Now, after seeing “positive results” when it comes to engagement in those areas, Facebook is said to be ready to roll out the change to all of its users.
Facebook wants to improve both the Facebook and Messenger apps, which it hopes to achieve by separating the two. You can already send more types of message through the app, and apparently people who use the Messenger app reply about 20 percent faster than those who message through the main app.
Those who access Facebook through a desktop or the mobile web will still be able to message from the one place, as will users of the Facebook app on Windows Phone and feature phones.
Android and iOS users will receive several notices of the change (accompanied by an impatient-looking otter) before the ability to message from the Facebook app is culled for good. There’ll also be an email sent out directly to users concerning the company’s plans.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
