Facebook takes aim at SMS with new Messenger app

Facebook has unveiled an update to its Messenger app for Android aimed at getting mobile users off SMS and onto the social network's own messaging service. Beginning on Tuesday, users no longer need a full Facebook account to access Messenger. Instead, they can sign up for the service using nothing more than their names and …

[The Man Who Fell To Earth]

Please, oh please

Let me give even more private data to Zuckerberg to sell!

[LarsG]

Re: Please, oh please

Hail King Zuck.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Please, oh please

Ah but is this innovation OR desperation?

[Anonymous Coward]

That sucking sound you hear......

All your phone belong to us.

[Esskay]

Because I didn't have enough instant messaging services....

This sounds a lot like whatsApp, or a multitude of other services already in existence. Except obviously this one has the misery and shadiness of "Facebook" all over it.

[Danny 14]

wow

sounds great. I cant WAIT to give my name and mobile number to facebook.

Oh wait a minute....

[VinceH]

Optional

"By allowing customers without Facebook accounts to access Messenger, Facebook brings the service that much closer to its goal of bringing all forms of electronic chat – including, email, IM, and SMS – under a single, unified messaging umbrella."

But Facebook's messaging is utter, utter shite.

[mark l 2]

Sounds like every other Android facebook app, released without testing and doesn't work properly. Android users as beta testers again

[JimmyPage]

So....

Facebook get's it's users to give it phone numbers of people who still haven't drunk the kool-aid ? No doubt from their address book, so now Facebook knows their phone number AND their email address and name.

Nothing bad about that.

[derv]

Privacy

In preparation for this assault, and as a non-user of this sh$te how can I submit a request to facebook that they must never/store/use my name, email address and phone number i.e. Non facebook information, when their scavenging app is used on peoples mobiles/devices?

[joeW]

ITT...

People who have and will never use Facebook, but still feel it necessary to tell everyone they have and will never use Facebook, so the proles will know how smart they are.

[Anonymous Coward]

follow the money

Let's see, Facebook gets hammered by investers as their advertising model is levelling out due to there not being the same opportunities to stream advertising to mobiles. Taaadaaa here is Facebooks new mobile messenger

So chances are if a friend texts you asking if you fancy a pizza your nearest dominos number will appear in the message?

[Anonymous Coward]

Onile Advertising Profitability?

Not everybody owns a smart-phone and so Facebooks Messenger app wont really replace SMS.

I cant understand companies like Facebook trying to make money from advertising, It hasnt been done in the last 20 years and probably wont in the future. Retailers need to discount heavily (over 20%) to entice online purchases. If retailers do this then there wont be enough of a margin to advertise in the first place.

As for food purchases, most people will probably already have the number of their favorite local takeaway or restaurant stored as a contacts on their phone.

The big search engines make money because people click on the first link presented to them. Advertisers are willing to pay to have the first chance of trying to make a sale which may or may not be successful. How profitable search engines are is a mystery. They need to spend heavily to pay for the bandwidth required to maintain their indexes.

Maybe somebody on The Register can enlighten us numpties about the online advertising industry.