14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook's Messenger has just surpassed another milestone, as more than 1 billion people use this messaging application for staying in touch with friends or even placing phone calls. The company managed to report 900 million monthly active users in April, which means that, in about three months, the app attracted 100 million more users.
Messenger is now one of the world's most popular chat applications. While WhatsApp reached the 1 billion mark in February, seven years after its release, Facebook's Messenger managed to report the same performance in just five years since it was launched in 2011.
Facebook Messenger is considered to be the second most popular iOS app, and its Android version has more than 1 billion downloads in the Play store. Moreover, Facebook Messenger introduced group calling last April and peer-to-peer calling back in 2013. The company also claims that 10 percent of all Voice over IP (VoIP) calls made globally take place within Messenger.
Facebook has also announced that, in order to celebrate the 1 billion mark, the application will allow people to use floating balloon stickers in their conversations. The company made a similar move when it integrated a soccer game inside Messenger in order to celebrate Euro 2016.
Facebook is constantly making changes to its Messenger application, and just this year, it introduced chat bots to Messenger. Moreover, it has also recently updated its Android Messenger version with Instant Articles, to make it easier for users to read and share content online.