The Facebook Messenger app shoots to the top spot of the free apps in the Apple app store, but users are obviously not happy about downloading it.
While Facebook Messenger has claimed the top spot, the app has also claimed the dubious distinction of doing so with an average rating of one star, which is the lowest rating that an app can receive.
On the Google Play Store, Facebook Messenger has similarly rocketed to the top of the free apps list, but with a four-star rating. This is because ratings for apps on the Google Play Store show the average rating for all of the app's versions, compared to ratings in the Apple app store that only takes into consideration the ratings of the latest version of the app.
Taking a closer look at the ratings of Facebook Messenger on the Google Play Store, the reviews that are coming in are generally negative as well.
The extremely low ratings being given to the app are undoubtedly caused by Facebook's decision to remove the messaging component from the main Facebook app, forcing users to download the separate Messenger app for both iOS and Android devices.
While the two apps seamlessly work hand in hand, with Messenger opening automatically when the user taps on the messaging component of the main app, users are generally unhappy about the fact that downloading and using Messenger is being forced upon them.
Forced changes in the past on Facebook, which include redesigns of the user's Timeline and News Feed, have similarly been met with negative responses, with disgruntled users making dedicated Facebook pages and online petitions against the changes.
The negative responses continue in the forced switch to Facebook Messenger, only this time, users can express their unhappiness through the app's ratings.
Facebook's announcement that it will be spinning out Messenger from the main Facebook app came late last month. Facebook said that it is doing so to streamline the development of both the main Facebook app and Messenger. Facebook developers will no longer have to maintain different codes for the messaging component of the main app and for the Messenger app.
Users are not happy whenever they are forced to download and switch to new apps. Another example of this is the ongoing rebranding of Foursquare, which has split the app into two apps named Swarm and the new Foursquare main app. While the two apps promise improvements to the old version of Foursquare, users have given the two apps mostly negative reviews.
