Facebook has announced that users in some countries can now create a Messenger account with only their name and phone number and start messaging using their mobile contacts. In India, Indonesia, Venezuela, Australia and South Africa, users who download the Android version of the app will be presented with the option of logging in with a phone number or connecting with a Facebook account, the New York Times reports.
After choosing the phone number option, users just have to enter their first and last name, and the phone sends a text message to Facebook for verification. Later, the company will introduce the phone-number sign-up option to other countries, including the US.
Peter Deng, a product director at Facebook who oversees the Messenger app, said the company hopes that by using the Messenger service, non-Facebook users will be encouraged to join the social network. This would then give them access to the messaging service on the social network's website or in the company’s mobile apps. The Messenger app will not include ads, he added.
The new feature forms part of an update to the Messenger for Android app, and the new Messenger accounts will become available over the next few weeks.
Telecompapers.com