There is still a significant number of users who have not yet installed Messenger on their mobile devices, despite Facebook spinning out the communications app from its social network app. These users have been using the mobile web app of Facebook in the browsers of their mobile devices as a workaround.
The workaround could soon come to an end, though, as Facebook has been releasing notifications that messages could soon only be accessed through Messenger. While the time to finally download Messenger is coming soon for some users, the company is adding features to the communications app to make it even more appealing to new and old users alike.
Through a Facebook post, the Messenger team announced that it is activating the feature to send and receive SMS in the Android version of Messenger.
According to the post, the feature will allow users to enjoy the convenience of having all their messages in one place and so will no longer need to switch between apps and screens when sending messages on Messenger and text messages.
"A lot of Android texting apps didn't keep up with the evolution of messaging, so we felt like we truly had to make Messenger the best SMS client for Android," said David Marcus, the head of Messenger.
To use the feature, users will have to enter the Settings menu of Messenger for Android, and then select the SMS option. Users should then activate the "default SMS app" option to turn on the feature.
All SMS sent and received through Messenger will have regular SMS fees applied, while all Messenger conversations will continue to use data.
To differentiate between the different kinds of messages, Messenger conversations will be in blue while SMS conversations will be in purple. While the feature is only currently available for the Android version of Messenger, users on the receiving end of SMS sent through the app can be on any operating system.
The SMS feature of Messenger, in addition to standard text, will allow users to insert video, audio and images into their text messages, along with emojis, stickers and location sharing. For other functions including sending GIFs, transferring money, requesting transportation and participating in video calls, users will have to use the regular Messenger.
Facebook also noted that the SMS conversations sent through Messenger will not be stored in the company's servers. The usage of Messenger as the default SMS app is also optional.
This is not the first time that Facebook attempted to integrate SMS into the Android version of Messenger. The first try was back in 2012, but the feature was dropped just a year later due to low usage rate.
