The app is live in Kenya, Tunisia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Venezuela, and Facebook told us there would be a “fast” wider rollout.įacebook has added numerous features to the full version of Messenger, including group calls and in-store payments. If Facebook sees that devices from 2010 are no longer being used, support will be dropped and the limit of 10MB could be increased to accommodate more advanced tools. “If you are a business and you use Facebook there are a bazillion ways to make your life easier.”įuture feature additions will be dictated by how the application is used. “We have four million advertisers on ,” added Chudnovsky. Although users don’t need a Facebook account to sign up, an increased Messenger footprint will enhance the company’s ecommerce ambitions.įacebook said it has been surprised at how enthusiastic small businesses had been about chatbots so far and adding more functionality, such as money transfers, to Messenger Lite would appear to be an obvious route to take.
Users can communicate with businesses from day one, but some of the more advanced features such as chatbots will not be included – for now at least. “We’re pitching it as a messaging application that can put you in touch with one billion person plus users.” Feature choice “We’re not pitching it as an SMS application,” explained Chudnovsky. Instead, Messenger Lite is targeting those who want a better messaging experience, albeit on a limited handset. There is no data crunching algorithm limiting bandwidth consumption, nor is the app zero rated like the Free Basics service Facebook offers. However data networks are not as advanced in some countries and can be expensive. Over the top (OTT) messaging apps are popular because they circumvent SMS charges, especially useful when contacting a foreign number.
Our goal is to connect everyone on the planet but it’s unlikely they’ll use all our services.” “We don’t segregate in this way and you don’t need to use Messenger with a Facebook account. “We hope anyone with a low end Android device will enjoy this using this application,” said Stan Chudnovsky, who is responsible for Messenger. The company told TechWeekEurope that although it hoped potential users would sign up for Facebook, it was not necessary to have a Facebook account to sign up. Messenger Lite promises to take up less than 10MB of storage (the actual size of the app is currently around 7MB).This means, things like voice and video calls are not possible, but the “core” functions such as text, images, video and links are. Facebook hopes to expand the use and reach of its messaging platform in the developing world with the launch of Messenger Lite, a stripped down version of the client designed for older smartphones running on low speed networks.
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