Use Facebook Messenger To Send And Receive Messages… But It’s Not For Free

In an attempt to reinforce what the company has previously started to establish — and that being: making Facebook an integral part of every mobile user’s phone — the company has just recently announced that Facebook Messenger for Android now has the capability to send and receive SMS or text messages.

The new update will allow Android users to use Facebook Messenger as an alternative text messaging platform, which will now allow users to send and receive text messages in the same way the operating system’s native messaging application allows them to.

While sending and receiving regular chat messages on the Messenger itself comes with no charge, sending and receiving text messages using the platform will still incur charges — and the rates will depend on the carrier of the user’s choosing, or the carrier that the user is subscribed to.

Facebook says similar functionality is not currently available for iOS devices, although it is assumed that the company is now trying to develop the same functionality for its Facebook Messenger for iOS -–– as Apple recently promised to open its Messages app to allow developers to create functionalities similar to that recently adapted by the Facebook Messenger for Android.

Text messages being sent and received on Facebook Messenger will come up in purple bubbles, as opposed to the blue bubbles that indicate chat messages from Facebook.

In a recently published post, the company stated:

“You will now have the choice to be able to send and receive your SMS/texts in Messenger and will not have go to different screens on your phone to communicate.”

And while the company’s intentions appear clear in the text, Facebook Messenger’s added functionality has raised some privacy concerns — concerns that are, however, likely to soon waver.