14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook is making more changes to its mobile experience, and one of these modification will soon impact all Android users out there, as they will be forced to install the Facebook Messenger app in order to enjoy chatting with their friends and family.
For the next couple of weeks, the social network will send notifications to users about this change, while being set to remove the chatting capabilities from its mobile client after that.
As soon as this happens, users will see at the bottom of the Facebook application only a link to download Facebook Messenger and will no longer be able to engage into conversations using the client.
Apparently, Facebook is convinced that the experience available to its customers will be improved this way, given the fact that Facebook Messenger has been designed specifically to offer chatting capabilities.
Being able to chat from within the Facebook client is seen as a second-class feature, while the actual Messenger should provide users with a more focused experience, the company claims, according to an article on TechCrunch.
The one thing that could upset users, however, is the fact that Facebook is enforcing this change on them and that they will no longer be able to keep things simple and to enjoy all that Facebook has to offer to them in a single place.
Of course, some users will still be able to circumvent this, through accessing Facebook via its mobile website. Those with older Android devices, which do not support Messenger, will be able to continue using the app as they did before, it seems.
One thing that is certain here, however, is the fact that Facebook wants and needs for its messaging mobile app to gain more traction around the world.
The company is planning on including voice chatting capabilities in it, so as to make the app more competitive when compared to rivals such as Skype, WeChat, BBM, and others.
Forcing mobile users to adopt Facebook Messenger might result in negative reactions, but it will also ensure that people get the chance to learn more on the features and capabilities that the app has to offer than they did before.
Said voice calling feature is available in a limited number of markets at the moment, but Facebook is slowly pushing it to more countries out there. Recently, the company has released it in India, enabling users to engage in free voice chats with their friends.