Facebook Plans to Remove Messaging from Its Mobile App

Alyssa Bereznak
·National Correspondent, Technology
Updated
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Facebook’s mobile app is losing one of its main features.

The social media network is notifying some of its European members that they will no longer be able to send direct messages to friends through the Facebook app, The Verge reports. For that function, they’ll instead need to download Messenger for iOS or Android.

The change is expected to roll out for those who received the message abroad in two weeks. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed that this is not a temporary or regional test. Sometime soon, everyone in every country will have to use a separate app for messaging. That is, unless she 1) owns a lower-end Android device without enough memory to load Messenger, 2) has a Windows Phone or tablet, or 3) uses Facebook’s news app Paper to message people … for some reason.

By separating the main Facebook app from Messenger, the company might be able to introduce more unique features into Messenger more quickly, like WhatsApp integration or voice calling.

So next time you tap the message button in the Facebook app and it redirects you to download Messenger, that’s why.

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