Facebook’s Messenger app hit a milestone this week as the company announced that 800 million people are using it each month.
Throughout the past year Facebook made strides to improve its Messenger app, which helped it earn the title of the fastest growing app of 2015 in the US.
Early last year Facebook turned Messenger into a platform which third parties can use to deliver content and communicate more directly with their audience. This change also allowed developers developers to integrate features from Messenger into other apps.
In April, Messenger was upgraded with video calling. In June, Facebook opened up the Messenger app to people without a Facebook account. That meant anyone with a mobile phone was able to use Messenger, gave it the opportunity to reach more users than it was able to before.
In August, Facebook announced ‘M’, a digital assistant powered by Messenger that behaves similar to Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana.
What’s Next for Facebook Messenger?
Facebook’s David Marcus predicts that in 2016 we’ll see a decline in traditional SMS messaging in favor of apps that allow people to express themselves more creatively.
In addition, Marcus believes people are seeking apps that allow them to accomplish multiple things in one place — such as buying airline tickets, or arranging for a ride with Uber.
Facebook wants to book communication on Messenger between people and businesses. Marcus vows to make Messenger “the best place to communicate with all the people and businesses in the world.”
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