Facebook messaging service passes 500 million usersNovember 11, 2014 - 10:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The tech giant was criticized by users that did not like the concept of leaving the Facebook website to another service to send messages. Social networking giant Facebook said its new messaging service now has more than 500 million users worldwide, according to BBC News. Users of the separate Messenger app have more than doubled from 200 million in April, the company said. Facebook had faced a backlash after it announced it would be forcing users to download the app to send private messages to friends over the main Facebook service. Users started being pushed to download the app - launched in 2011 - in July. "Messaging is an important part of how people stay connected and since Messenger launched in 2011 we've been passionate about giving people a faster and more expressive way to communicate," said Facebook's director of product management Peter Martinazzi in a blog. In April, Facebook had told users that they would need to download a separate app to allow them to send videos, make free calls and chat with friends. But, the tech giant was widely criticized by users that did not like the concept of leaving the Facebook website to another service to send messages. That led to the iOS App Store review score for the recent version of the Messenger app to fall to one and half stars. "Messenger was the first of our standalone apps, and unlike our core Facebook apps, it focused on one use case - messaging," Martinazzi said. "We've also continued to improve speed and reliability. Updates to Messenger ship every two weeks so it continues to evolve and improve," he added, showing that Facebook plans to stick with the app despite the negative feedback. Meanwhile, Facebook has been trying to get on the forefront of mobile messaging, and finalized a deal to buy popular messaging service WhatsApp last month for about $22bn. The mobile messaging app had more than 600 million monthly users at the time of the acquisition. Related links: Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | International cybercrime ringleaders arrested in Armenia, Ukraine Europol, Europe's crime agency, has arrested four ringleaders of several cybercrime networks that used botnets. Armenia skips CSTO Defense Ministers meeting A meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization countries began in Almaty. Armenian, Iranian foreigh policy chief talk over the phone The Foreign Minister of Armenia once again expressed condolences to his counterpart on the death of the President of Iran. Armenia, U.S. customs authorities to boost assistance with new deal The government has approved an agreement with the U.S. government on mutual assistance between the customs authorities. |