Facebook is set to remove the in-built messaging function from its mobile app over the next few days, in favour of its standalone Facebook Messenger app. The company has been trialling the strategy in Europe since April, and has now decided to roll-out the change worldwide.
Facebook users will receive a notification in the app telling them to download Messenger in order to continue to send and receive messages.
Regarding the change, Facebook said in a statement to TechCrunch: “In the next few days, we’re continuing to notify more people that if they want to send and receive Facebook messages, they’ll need to download the Messenger app. As we’ve said, our goal is to focus development efforts on making Messenger the best mobile messaging experience possible and avoid the confusion of having separate Facebook mobile messaging experiences.”
According to Facebook, people who use the standalone Messenger app reply roughly 20% faster than those who just use the standard app.