Facebook Messenger Now Requires a Facebook Account To Join

If you want to sign up for Facebook Messenger, you can no longer escape Big Blue — you’ll need an account from now on. From a report: The company has stopped allowing new users to join using a phone number. “We found that the vast majority of people who use Messenger already log in through Facebook and we want to simplify the process,” a spokesperson told VentureBeat. “If you already use Messenger without a Facebook account, no need to do anything.” Facebook has said that Messenger has over 1.3 billion users. The company spun messaging out of its main app in order to create Messenger, and in 2015 began allowing users to join without a Facebook account. The app has slowly begun featuring advertising, and businesses can provide customer service through Messenger as well.