Facebook Messenger to Discontinue Certain Feature Starting in April
Facebook Messenger is still a popular app among users, but the platform will lose one of its features in September. Many of you may not know this, but the Messenger app used to allow people to send SMS messages over the cellular network on Android phones, but this option is going away next month.
Messenger has shared an update via its support page recently. Text message Support ends on September 28, message adds.
The feature will be removed via an app update for Messenger users on Android. The SMS feature makes it popular among many, but now you have to go back to using traditional Android SMS apps to send messages over the cellular network.
Meta claims Android users will have to start using the default Google Messages app to send text messages after this date next month. Messenger received SMS support in 2016 for Android, which was seen as a possible alternative to Apple’s iMessage and Google’s Messages service. But it was always a tough challenge to compete with traditional messaging services.
Changes will also be made to the Messenger app when Meta takes the Inbox feature back to the main Facebook app. The company claims that more than 140 billion messages are sent daily through its messaging apps like Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. When messages leave Messenger, it looks like the app is only useful for chatting with your Facebook friends.
Meta continues to revamp platforms to improve usability and focus on popular apps like WhatsApp and Instagram, which have grown rapidly. The messaging app gets new features at regular intervals, and you’ll notice the same on Instagram.