SMS functionality for Facebook Messenger will end in September

We have some disturbing news for Android users of Facebook Messenger. If you use Facebook Messenger as an SMS app, then be prepared to let it go. Well, the feature is going away from September 2023 onward. When it comes to SMS apps on Android, users have plenty of options, including Samsung Messages, Google Messages, and others.

Back in 2016, the company introduced the feature to the app, but the feature is bidding farewell in just a month. The company has already notified the concerned users about this change. In addition to this, the company has listed the news in an official support document. The support document indicates that When you upgrade your app after September 28, 2023, you “won’t be capable of using Messenger to send and receive SMS messages delivered by your cellular network.”

Furthermore, the company has asked users to modify their phone settings. Users are advised to change the default messaging app from Facebook Messenger to Google Messages or Samsung Messages on their phones. In order to change the default messaging app, go to Settings. Navigate to Apps and then select Choose default Apps and finally SMS app. Now, you can select your preferred messaging app. Before September 28, 2023, if the default messaging app isn’t changed, the phone’s default messaging app will take over.

In 2012, the company permitted users to use Facebook Messenger as an SMS app. Just one year later, the company dropped the feature. After a few years, the feature was reintroduced in 2016. However, it was introduced independently of the main app.  Besides this, the company asserts that users can access their SMS message history from the new default messaging app on the phone.