[msvan]

This seems like a move into the Chinese-style mega-app where you can do everything from one app - buy shoes, talk to your friends, figure out when the train departs. Facebook already has two top-50 apps, and creating new, unproven apps and promoting them to that point is expensive. So, to increase influence they are putting more into the existing apps.

[acchow]

> Facebook already has two top-50 apps

I count 4: Facebook, Messenger, Whatsapp, Instagram.

[robinson7d]

Who knows, they might move toward a mega-app. Consider for a moment, though, that currently we're talking about Facebook Messenger, which is a huge, and fairly recent example of the exact opposite thing happening (it was part of Facebook, but pulled out into a separate app.)

[Roodgorf]

The odd thing about the example of Messenger is that as two separate apps they seem highly coupled. AFAIK you need to sign in with a valid Facebook account to use Messenger, so you're already very likely to have the normal app at that point as I can't imagine anyone who would trust FB for messaging but not everything else. On the flip side, barring a few possible holdouts of people worried about app permissions, I don't know anyone who actively have FB accounts but don't use their messaging service.

[viksit]

Actually no - FB messenger now works purely on just phone numbers as well, without a FB account being required. This is a shift they've made to compete with the other messaging apps out there.

That said, they prefer and guide you at every point to use an FB account to sign up vs making it easier for you to keep the two de-coupled.

[dublinben]

I "actively" have a FB account by most measures, and I don't use Facebook Messenger. I only access their mobile site through Tinfoil for Facebook, and the messaging works just fine in that.

[Roodgorf]

Cool, I hadn't found any browsers that worked well with it mobily and Messenger has become the lowest common denominator for group messaging, among my friends at least, particularly for Android, I've just resigned to using it. I'll check out Tinfoil for Facebook though, thanks.

[chromedude]

You actually don't need to have a Facebook account anymore to use Messenger. http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2015/06/sign-up-for-messenger-wi...

[piyush_soni]

I, for example, one of those who is very active on FB both through Desktop and their Mobile App, but do not use their Messenger app since they separated it from the main app. I also don't intend to install it unless they add something amazing value added to its simple messaging. What is infuriating that they download all the messages on my phone even when I don't have messenger installed, but force me to install another app instead just to see them.

[uptown]

You can use Paper to access messages if you are willing to install Paper.

[lenomad]

What's Paper?

[uptown]

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/paper-stories-from-facebook/...

[differentView]

Maybe after seeing their smart phone flopped, they're going with an inside-out approach.

[gearoidoc]

Good point. Unsure why you've been downvoted for this.

[teaneedz]

The privacy implications would keep me from recommending this to others or even trying it out myself.

[golergka]

> promoting them to that point is expensive

(1) Not for facebook and (2) I don't think that they would inevitably promote every new app to the top — I think they'd rather see how it grows organically first to determine how good it turned out to be.