Facebook’s Chat service is one of the core features why a
lot of users are so fond of the social network. However, the social network
announced yesterday that a big change is about to happen with Facebook chat,
most specifically with that on mobile apps.
The company’s mobile app has long sported a built-in chat
app which is accessible by swiping from the right of the screen. But according
to Facebook, this feature will soon be removed and will be moved exclusively to
the Facebook Messenger app. The move is intended to bring a more focused chat
experience to users through a dedicated chat app.
There are exceptions to the new rule though. For starters,
devices with low memory won’t be required to download Facebook messenger in
order to save space. Second, Windows Phone handsets and tablets will still be
able to see messages inside their main Facebook app. And third, those using
Facebook Paper (which is only available at the moment on iOS) will not be
affected by this new policy.
But the thing is, the removal of the chat function on
Facebook’s core app affects users both positively and negatively. On one hand,
this would require users to download two apps separately in order for them to
be able to chat with their friends. But on the other hand, it does remove the
redundancy of having a separate app to download for chatting.
Nonetheless, this new policy will be put to the test in a
few weeks, so we’ll just have to wait and see how Facebook mobile app users
will take it.
