Facebook Messenger

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Messenger
Developer(s)Meta Platforms
Initial releaseAugust 9, 2011; 11 years ago (2011-08-09)
April 2020; 3 years ago (2020-04)
Operating systemWeb, Android, iOS, Windows 10, Windows 11, macOS
Size53.33 MB (Android)[1]
124.1 MB (iOS)[2]
169.4 MB (Windows 10 and Windows 11)[3]
91.3 MB (macOS)[4]
Available in111[5] languages
List of languages
Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Assamese, Azerbaijani, Basque, Belarusian, Bengali, Bosnian, Breton, Bulgarian, Burmese, Catalan, Cebuano, Corsican, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Dutch (België), English (UK), English (US), English (upside down), Esperanto, Estonian, Faroese, Filipino, Finnish, French (Canada), French (France), Frisian, Fula, Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Guarani, Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hausa, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Japanese (Kansai), Javanese, Kannada, Kazakh, Khmer, Kinyarwanda, Korean, Kurdish (Kurmanji), Kyrgyz, Lao, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malagasy, Malay, Malayalam, Maltese, Marathi, Mongolian, Nepali, Norwegian (bokmal), Norwegian (nynorsk), Oriya, Pashto, Persian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Sardinian, Serbian, Shona, Silesian, Simplified Chinese (China), Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Somali, Sorani Kurdish, Spanish, Spanish (Spain), Swahili, Swedish, Syriac, Tajik, Tamazight, Tamil, Tatar, Telugu, Thai, Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong), Traditional Chinese (Taiwan), Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Welsh and Zaza
TypeInstant messaging, VoIP
LicenseFreeware, proprietary
Websitemessenger.com
facebook.com/messages

Facebook Messenger is an American messaging app and platform developed by Meta, Inc.

It was originally developed as Facebook Chat in 2008. The company revamped its messaging service in 2010. It released standalone iOS and Android apps in August 2011 and standalone Facebook Portal hardware for Messenger-based calling in the fourth quarter of 2018. Later on, Facebook launched a dedicated website interface (Messenger.com), and separated the messaging functionality from the main Facebook app. This allows users to use the web interface or download one of the standalone apps.

In April 2020, Facebook officially released Messenger for Desktop. It is supported on Windows 10 and macOS and distributed on Microsoft Store and App Store respectively.

History[change | change source]

In 2008, Facebook started testing a new instant messaging feature called "Facebook Chat"[6][7][8][9], which was later released to users in April of the same year. In 2010, Facebook made significant improvements to its messaging platform and acquired a group messaging service called Beluga[10]. This acquisition led to the launch of standalone Messenger apps for iOS and Android in 2011[11]. BlackBerry and Windows Phone versions were also released later on[12][13]. In 2014, Facebook made the decision to remove messaging from the main Facebook app, requiring users to download the separate Messenger app[14][15]. They also introduced an iPad-optimized version of Messenger[16][17]. In 2015, a web interface for Messenger was launched, and a Tizen app was released in 2015[18]. Messenger became available for Windows 10 in 2016, and a lightweight version called Messenger Lite was introduced for older Android phones and regions with limited internet access[19][20]. Messenger Lite expanded to more countries in 2017. In 2017, Facebook redesigned the Messenger app on Android and iOS, adding new features and improving the overall design[21][22][23].

In 2011, Facebook introduced a Messenger program for Windows 7, but it was discontinued in 2014. They also released a Firefox add-on for Messenger, which was later discontinued as well. In 2017, Facebook launched Messenger Kids, a special version of the app designed for children under 13 years old. Messenger became the second most downloaded mobile app of the decade from 2011 to 2019. In 2019, Facebook made it mandatory for users to sign in to Messenger with a Facebook account rather than just a mobile number.

In 2020, Facebook released a dedicated Messenger app for macOS. They also introduced a new feature called Messenger Rooms, which allows up to 50 people to video chat simultaneously. This feature was seen as a competitor to Zoom. Privacy concerns were raised as Messenger Rooms uses the same data collection policies as the main Facebook platform. Facebook added a feature called App Lock in July 2020, allowing iOS users to secure their chats with Face ID or Touch ID. They also removed the option to view only "Unread Threads" in the inbox, requiring users to scroll through the entire inbox to ensure all messages have been read.

In October 2020, Facebook's Messenger app integrated messaging with Instagram[24]. They also unveiled a new logo that combines elements from the Messenger and Instagram logos[25].

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ "Facebook Messenger – Text and Video Chat for Free APKs". APKMirror. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Facebook Messenger". App Store. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Facebook Messenger". Microsoft Store. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Facebook Messenger". Mac App Store. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Facebook Interface Languages". Facebook (Select your language).
  6. ↑ Arrington, Michael (March 14, 2008). "Facebook To Launch Instant Messaging Service". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  7. ↑ McCarthy, Caroline (March 14, 2008). "Report: Facebook IM service will debut soon". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  8. ↑ Hendrickson, Mark (April 6, 2008). "Facebook Chat Launches, For Some". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  9. ↑ Farber, Dan (April 6, 2008). "Facebook Chat begins to roll out". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  10. ↑ Siegler, MG (November 15, 2010). "Facebook's Modern Messaging System: Seamless, History, And A Social Inbox". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  11. ↑ Siegler, MG (March 1, 2011). "Facebook Acquires Group Messaging Service Beluga In A Talent AND Technology Deal". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  12. ↑ Fingas, Jon (March 4, 2014). "Facebook Messenger arrives for Windows Phone sans voice features". Engadget. AOL. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  13. ↑ Betters, Elyse (March 5, 2014). "Facebook Messenger lands for Windows Phone - without voice messaging and chat heads". Pocket-lint. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  14. ↑ Constine, Josh (April 9, 2014). "Facebook Is Forcing All Users To Download Messenger By Ripping Chat Out Of Its Main Apps". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  15. ↑ Hamburger, Ellis (April 9, 2014). "Facebook will turn off messaging in its mobile app, forcing you to download Messenger". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  16. ↑ Welch, Chris (April 8, 2015). "Facebook launches standalone Messenger for web browsers". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  17. ↑ Wagner, Kurt (April 8, 2015). "Facebook Launches Messenger for Web Browsers". Recode. Vox Media. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  18. ↑ F., Adnan (July 13, 2015). "Official Facebook Messenger and Instagram apps arrive for Samsung Z1". SamMobile. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  19. ↑ Constine, Josh (April 27, 2017). "Facebook sidesteps Snapchat by launching Messenger Lite in 132 more countries". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  20. ↑ Statt, Nick (April 27, 2017). "Facebook's Messenger Lite app launches in 132 more countries today". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Download Facebook Video". Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  22. ↑ Perez, Sarah (May 18, 2017). "Facebook Messenger debuts a new look focused on improving navigation". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  23. ↑ Regan, Tom (May 18, 2017). "Facebook makes Messenger easier to use for social butterflies". Engadget. AOL. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Facebook Messenger releases cross-app group chats, further integrating with Instagram". TechCrunch. September 30, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  25. ↑ "The Future of Messaging is Now". Messenger News. Retrieved October 13, 2020.


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