Facebook removing Messenger feature from main app this week

Facebook is finally moving forward with plans to remove Messenger from its main apps. The company announced plans to separate the apps April of this year. This week, Facebook will require users to download the Messenger app if they want to chat.

The company isn’t removing Messenger from its main apps to be a jerk. It actually makes a lot sense. Facebook’s main app is already pretty bloated so removing messenger will speed things up.

The Messenger app also offers a unique feature on Android called Chat Heads. It’s basically a persistent notification that sits on the side of your screen for quickly chatting. Chat Heads are great for multitasking.

When Facebook removes Messenger from its main apps, the chat button will still remain, but will take users into the Messenger app instead. If the app isn’t installed, it will take users to their respective app stores to download it.

You can find the full Facebook press release below:

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. Messenger is used by more than 200 million people every month, and we’ll keep working to make it an even more engaging way to connect with people.

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