A bug is messing up the keyboard for some Messenger users on iPhones (Update: Now fixed)
If you're having issues with Facebook Messenger on your iPhone right now, you're not alone.
An annoying bug is affecting typing inside the app. Some users on iOS devices are finding that the app is freezing after they type a couple of words in a chat bubble, but other apps are working fine. The glitch obviously makes having conversations through Messenger more than a little difficult.
Update: The bug got squashed, here's what Facebook said.
On January 17th, we learned that a very small number of people who were using Messenger on iOS had some trouble in typing messages. We investigated and the problem is resolved. We are sorry for any inconvenience.
TechCrunch's own Josh Constine was hit by the problem and he found that closing and reopening the app didn't fix it. Likewise, other users tried deleting and reinstalling Messenger but all to no avail, the bug persisted.
Facebook confirmed to TechCrunch that it is looking into the issue, but for now there’s no word from the company on what is causing it and how it plans to fix it.
Messenger is one of the world's most popular apps with over a billion active users. The issue isn't affecting everyone, but enough of them to make the problem visible on Twitter, where some went to vent their frustration.
@messenger your app is totally broken on iOS 11 right now. I can only type 1-2 words. pic.twitter.com/Dx82BJVwEm
— 📚Brian's Book Blog📚 (@brians_books) January 18, 2018
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Messenger
Please
Let us type
More than
A few words
At a time
Thanks.— Joe Atlan (@JoeAtlan) January 18, 2018
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Tonight’s problem with Facebook Messenger: I can’t type more than a few words before it won’t let me type anything else. Restarting my phone and re-downloading the app did nothing.
— AJ Roccaforte (@AJRoccaforte) January 18, 2018
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Messenger counts over one billion users thanks to some impressive growth, but it is planning some changes this year. David Marcus, who heads up the service, said this week that it has become too bloated and he plans to put his team to work on decluttering the service to simplify the experience for users.