Facebook may soon let you chat with friends on mobile without Messenger

It appears that its now looking to bring messaging back to the primary Facebook app experience which indicates a change in strategy for keeping users engaged on the platform

App researcher Jane Manchun Wong tweeted a screenshot of a Facebook feature in the works, which shows a new tab for messaging people right within the social networks app.

It isnt clear if this feature will become widely available, and Facebook hasnt yet said anything about the change but our guess is that Facebook now sees sense in changing its approach in offering users two of its major messaging tools Messenger and WhatsApp as the mobile app and services ecosystem has evolved in the past half-decade.

WhatsApp has become a choice for many as their preferred messaging app, but you still have to give out your phone number to whom you want to chat with. But with integrated messaging, the social network might not need to promote Messenger as a standalone app, and give avenues to people to access the chat function in as many places as possible.This makes more sense for supporting Facebook, which helps you find more people you may know through your friends, but may not approach directly to chat by asking for their phone number.

With careful engineering, this could also negate the need for a separate messaging app that could take up precious space on peoples phones; thats important for Facebook to bear in mind as it aims to grow its user base in developing countries, where many people may opt for basic devices with limited storage.

Messenger remains a feature-rich, stand-alone messaging app with over a billion people using it monthly to connect with the people and businesses they care about most.

Original article