Facebook has quietly removed an option for Messenger, one of its many instant messengers. Until then and since 2015, you could still use it with a simple phone number, without having to create an account on the social network. It’s over, however, you can no longer use Messenger without an open and active Facebook account.
Note that this only concerns new users. If you are currently using Messenger without a Facebook account, you will still be able to do so, although a bug in the current versions of the apps may block you. This is normally temporary and you should regain full access to the app in the future.
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On the other hand, the option to avoid logging in with a Facebook account has disappeared for new users. Mark Zuckerberg’s company highlights a simplification and justifies its choice by the fact that the majority of current users had a Facebook account anyway. Either way, the conclusion remains the same: Messenger is once again completely linked to the social network, as it was when it was created.
let’s remember that Facebook wants to unify infrastructures of its three instant messengers, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. This unification, which will allow a user of one messaging service to contact a user of another messaging service, will perhaps go through a full Facebook account. For the moment, WhatsApp still works exclusively on the basis of a phone number and Instagram still offers to create an independent account.
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