As its name implies, Facebook Messenger is an instant messaging that can be used for people with Facebook accounts. But soon, that description of the world's most popular messaging platform could change. That is because the social media giant has just announced that the Messenger mobile app can now be used even by those who have not signed up for Facebook.
Specifically, Facebook has gone on record saying that this new and more open version of Messenger can only be accessed by users who are based in selected countries for now. But still, the biggest social media platform in the planet is currently in the midst of deploying a new and improved version of the Messenger mobile app that has all the features that people expect (group conversations, photo sharing, video calling capabilities, sticker sharing), but can be used for any mobile user with a phone number, regardless of whether he or she has ever used Facebook.
What happens is that non-Facebook users who want to enjoy using the Messenger mobile app can do so via an extra option on Facebook's landing page (that one that asks “Not on Facebook?”). When these users click that, they can then sign up by providing their name, profile photo, and of course, their phone number.
Facebook is already an immensely popular name in the Internet age and in the mobile age, and is a true global brand. To date, it has managed to accumulate 1.44 billion users around the world, 1.25 billion of which are those who log in to Facebook through their mobile devices. It really is hard to fathom that there are still people out there, and mobile users at that, who do not have a Facebook account.
But the fact remains that there are, and Facebook may just have found a way of reaching out to them, too. And its Messenger mobile app may just be the perfect tool for doing exactly that. Among Facebook's many products and services, the Messenger app is perhaps the biggest and the fastest growing. And all signs indicate that the Messenger is Facebook's favorite toy. During the last few months, the social media giant has certainly done extensive enhancements to its messaging tool. Last March, the company introduced a feature in Messenger that allows users to send money to Facebook friends. Just this month, Facebook also started to overhaul the app's location sharing features to make way for better, newer features in the near future. It has also introduced Messenger's first true game ever. If Facebook is intent on capturing users who do not have Facebook, the Messenger app appears to have the best chance of getting their attention.
