Facebook Messenger has been downloaded more than 1 billion times on Android devices — a feat that's only been accomplished by several other apps.
David Marcus, vice-president of messaging products at Facebook, announced in a post that the company's popular Messenger app is now among an exclusive few to reach 1 billion downloads on the Google Play store.
Besides Facebook, which previously hit this milestone with its flagship app and WhatsApp, Google has earned the 1 billion downloads badge with its Gmail, YouTube, Search and Maps apps.
The news is especially impressive considering the early backlash that Messenger received last year, when Facebook rolled it out as a standalone platform separate from its flagship app. The company said having separate apps that focus on one part of the experience is better for most users.
While 1 billion downloads is nothing to scoff at, it doesn't mean 1 billion people are using Messenger (it's just the download total). The number also doesn't include the millions of people who have downloaded it on iOS devices. As of March, Messenger had about 600 million active monthly users. Facebook didn't clarify the platform breakdown (iOS vs. Android) of that number.
With Messenger as a standalone app, Facebook has pushed to broaden its scope. You can now send payments, video chat and huge, brightly colored stickers to friends. Upcoming features, such as customer service chat and more third-party app integration, means Facebook is continually looking for ways to keep people more engaged on the platform.
Messenger recently received flack over how it handles location services, which used to track locations by default on Android. A Harvard student who was gearing up for a Facebook internship built a Chrome extension that helps people track their friends down to the nearest meter. That extension is now gone, and Messenger no longer tracks users' locations by default.
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