Facebook CEO Explains Separate Messenger Download, Points Towards 'Dedicated' Experience

[nilk]

Use Facebook's "Paper" app if you want messages built in to your client. It is also a better Facebook client in general, though it needs some tweaks for iPhone 6/6+ to make it easier to use one-handed. After getting an iPhone 6, I switched back to the regular Facebook app because Paper has notifications in the upper right hand corner which is usually opposite of my thumb.

If you are on a 5S or older or don't care about one-handed use, just use Paper. It also performs really well compared to the regular client. It was very performant even on my 4S, while the regular app was so slow it was unusable.

I actually like the separate Messenger app for one reason: you can use landscape mode. Neither the regular Facebook app nor Paper do landscape mode.

 

[Imory]

They are different in the ways that are mentioned in the post

Did I ask you? I quoted someone else.

 

[pmhparis]

Now... imagine if Facebook Messenger came out first as simply a messaging service... but then they added "extra" things like status updates, photos, groups, events and other stuff.

People would be complaining that all that "extra" stuff is ruining the messaging experience.

Six of one... half dozen of the other.

No. The problem is that FB purposely made the situation so that it so that way. It is precisely the half-assed & obligatory migration that is the problem.

Had FB allowed configuration of the normal app so that we don't HAVE to get the messenger app or be nagged by FB messages in the regular app, then fine.

They didn't. They removed messaging & left the nagging without any way to turn it off without losing the other notifications. I neither needed nor want FB messaging. Removing functions from the app and replacing it with nagging messages was a bone-headed move akin to Microsoft's attempt to push an unwanted tablet interface onto my multi-screen desktop.

 

[groovyd]

Pathetic excuse and spin

100% of users want everything in one app, they launched messenger as a competitor to whatsapp and it bombed, so they figured remove chat from the main app and people will be forced to use it, in that regard it worked perfectly for them

Long run, it shows they don't give a damn about the user

Looks more like a run-on then a long run.

 

[C DM]

Did I ask you? I quoted someone else.

And I simply pointed out that the information that was being sought was already provided.

 

[rmatthewware]

Facebook has become like email. It's the de facto means of connecting with family and friends because everyone (including your grandmother) has it. It stopped being cool a long time ago. When it comes to what the youth are using for messaging, they're either using text message or Snapchat.

 

[C DM]

Facebook has become like email. It's the de facto means of connecting with family and friends because everyone (including your grandmother) has it. It stopped being cool a long time ago. When it comes to what the youth are using for messaging, they're either using text message or Snapchat.

And a lot of people still find it useful. Doesn't matter if it's "cool" or something else like that, many don't care about inconsequential things like that.

 

[Dayv]

My "better experience" equals using the web version.

My "better experience" has been to tell people not to bother Facebook messaging me at all.

 

[Altis]

This is one of those times when I have to draw a line.

There was no valid reason to remove messaging capability from the standard app.

Oh but the messaging app is better, so we removed the messaging abilities from the standard app to force you to use our better one! ... Just doesn't hold up. It may be better in some ways, but it's worse in others.

Bottom line: offer both. If nobody switches to the separate app, then it probably isn't "better".

 

[AlecZ]

I like having my Facebook and Messenger notifications separate. If they were in the same app, they'd have the same badge, and I wouldn't be able to tell if I got new messages or new post notifications.

I also use Messenger way, way more than I use Facebook on my iPhone, so I like having them separate so I don't have to deal with annoyances when sending messages. Heck, I hardly use Facebook and just connect to its Jabber chat system using iChat/Messages instead of going to http://facebook.com.

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My "better experience" has been to tell people not to bother Facebook messaging me at all.

Sadly, this doesn't work. Most of my contacts use it. Second place is iMessage, third place is AIM, fourth is Google. Messages/iChat handles them all.

 

[octothorpe8]

I only see Facebook messages if I happen to log in through the web interface (mobile or desktop). I don't have any Facebook apps installed. My email address and phone number right there on my profile, so anybody who chooses to Facebook message me instead of calling, emailing or texting gets to wait until I happen to see it.

 

[C DM]

No. The problem is that FB purposely made the situation so that it so that way. It is precisely the half-assed & obligatory migration that is the problem.

Had FB allowed configuration of the normal app so that we don't HAVE to get the messenger app or be nagged by FB messages in the regular app, then fine.

They didn't. They removed messaging & left the nagging without any way to turn it off without losing the other notifications. I neither needed nor want FB messaging. Removing functions from the app and replacing it with nagging messages was a bone-headed move akin to Microsoft's attempt to push an unwanted tablet interface onto my multi-screen desktop.

You can disable notifications just for messages in the main Facebook app.

 

[C DM]

This is one of those times when I have to draw a line.

There was no valid reason to remove messaging capability from the standard app.

Oh but the messaging app is better, so we removed the messaging abilities from the standard app to force you to use our better one! ... Just doesn't hold up. It may be better in some ways, but it's worse in others.

Bottom line: offer both. If nobody switches to the separate app, then it probably isn't "better".

Well seems like a number of people that have replied found some valid reasons as to why it might be good and useful to them.

 

[cclloyd]

dont care but what pisses me of is their stupid useless filter showing me stuff from days ago as "new" on my newsfeed. just let me set "most recent" as default or bring back the drop down menu on top instead of hiding it behind all those steps. so annoying

Is there a way to sort most recent on the ios app? I haven't found it if there is.

 

[C DM]

Is there a way to sort most recent on the ios app? I haven't found it if there is.

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-show-the-most-recent-news-feed-in-the-new-face-1577443645 (It will either be in the Favorites and/or the Feeds section).

 

[Altis]

Well seems like a number of people that have replied found some valid reasons as to why it might be good and useful to them.

Of course, and I would never try to take that away from them.

The only reason it's an issue is because a useful function was removed, and their reasoning is poor. Let us decide which is better for our needs. That there is still a "messages" tab in the main app is like a reminder that it could still work there.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. The history of Facebook apps is full of laggy, battery and data killing flaws. It's a good time to take a step back from it all.

 

[thekeyring]

[removed]

 

[C DM]

Got sick of Facebook in my pocket so uninstalled the app. Too easy to log on and waste time.
Now at least when I check the site once a day in my laptop I check notifications then quit.

And seems fairly unrelated to the actual topic at hand.

 

[thekeyring]

And seems fairly unrelated to the actual topic at hand.

You're right. I'm sorry.

 

[SMIDG3T]

I don't understand them (Facebook Inc).

They force you to download the messenger app when using the Facebook app but when using Paper they don't.

Make your bloody mind up, oh, and make Paper available worldwide and just not in the US.

 

[truettray]

You know... when Facebook did this I was really mad. I was already getting tired of Facebook, but this was just one more thing. I was still checking FB compulsively, hating myself for it every time... I would delete Facebook, but I need it for those friends and family members that use it as their only way to contact me... that's when I realized that this app fixed my problem! I can now check my messages without ever needing to use Facebook! I don't even need the FB app on my phone anymore! My actual FB usage has dropped to nearly zero, and I have Mark Zuckerberg to thank for it!

 

[jweinraub]

Why are poeple STILL complaining about the Messenger app??

I like it. I think it's good and it's miles better than the standard app. I don't even use the Facebook app anymore, I just use Paper.

I didn't think anyone used Paper. I thought it was garbage and uninstalled it the same day. But Zuck is wrong about Messenger and most of my friends stopped using it too.

 

[Imory]

And I simply pointed out that the information that was being sought was already provided.

I didn't see that. There's really no difference in terms of the apps themselves, other than the fact that Facebook will offer you the possibility to use the web. The apps themselves are in their essence, the same.

 

[C DM]

I didn't see that. There's really no difference in terms of the apps themselves, other than the fact that Facebook will offer you the possibility to use the web. The apps themselves are in their essence, the same.

Those types of differences are big enough differences, more on the service level than specifically on app level (as the original post related to this was referring to). WhatsApp can really only be used on smartphones and that's it, iMessage can only be used on iOS or OS X devices and that's it, Skype needs to have a client installed, Facebook is the only one that offers the ability to have chat without an app simply through a browser without installing anything, meaning it can be used on pretty much most devices or computers simply from a browser (if an app is not available or desired) and be pretty much in sync across all those places--that alone is a quite a difference. It might not matter to some or even many, but it's an important difference nonetheless.

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I didn't think anyone used Paper. I thought it was garbage and uninstalled it the same day. But Zuck is wrong about Messenger and most of my friends stopped using it too.

Paper is actually fairly good in comparison to the main Facebook app, in particular for those who run into performance/stability issues with the main Facebook app.

I don't understand them (Facebook Inc).

They force you to download the messenger app when using the Facebook app but when using Paper they don't.

Make your bloody mind up, oh, and make Paper available worldwide and just not in the US.

The apps are in somewhat different categories. Messenger is a full service (chat) application for an established service, while Paper is more of an experimental way of delivering Facebook content in a somewhat different manner. That said, it would be good if they offered it more widely.

 

[RMo]

Huh. I don't really use Facebook (neither the app or the whole service in general), only the Messenger app, so I think it was a good move to separate it from the main app

It was also separate before. Now they just force you to use them separately if you want both. I don't mind on my phone or iPod, but it's a big inconvenience on iPad where it's nice to use the chat bubbles on top of other Facebook content you might be browsing at the time (not really enough space for both at the same time on smaller devices, and it's only a little bit slower to switch between the two apps than it was to wait for the Messages tab to load--they at least made it easy to switch from Messenger to Facebook and vice versa without needing to invoke the multitasker).

My guess is that they are trying to increase the number of advertising hits they get by using two apps.

There is no advertising in the Messenger app. (Come to think of it, I don't recall much in the iOS Facebook app, either--sponsored posts but not the sidebar ads you get on the desktop.)

Why are poeple STILL complaining about the Messenger app? I like it. I think it's good and it's miles better than the standard app. I don't even use the Facebook app anymore, I just use Paper.

Personally, as I stated above, I really only find it inconvenient on the iPad. This would be like needing to load a separate Facebook Chat page on the desktop website rather than being able to chat in little windows on top of your other content. (You can actually do this on the website, but obviously you don't have to, and even when you do, my analogy falls apart because this would need to be a page where you can't even see anything else about your Facebook account, like other notifications.) That's exactly the horrible experience they're forcing on the iPad, but I don't mind it on smaller devices where there isn't really enough room to do both well at the same time.