Facebook opens up Messenger to third-party apps
29.05.2020 10:48
Facebook has confirmed that it is opening up its Messenger service to third-party developers, allowing them to add functions of their own.
It effectively completes the four-year-old software's transformation from a "lightweight" chat app, spun off from the main Facebook site, into a fully-fledged "platform" of its own.
More than 40 new add-on apps have already been developed so far.
But one expert said there was a risk Messenger would become bloated.
Messenger has already proved controversial with some users of the social network, who have complained about having to switch between two apps to stay in touch with their Facebook friends.
Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg announced the move at his firm's F8 developers conference in San Francisco.
He said more than 600 million people already used Messenger at least once a month to express themselves, and that allowing other social networks and services to directly post to it would make "conversations better".
Among the new apps unveiled are ways to post:
Looped animated images known as Gifs sourced from the sports TV service ESPN and elsewhere
Still images from the picture hosting site Imgur
Computer-generated animal cartoon messages with recorded audio via Talking Tom
Forecasts from the Weather Channel service
E-cards from the humour site Jibjab
Audio files from the Sound Clip
It builds on a move to allow US-based users to send money to and from each other via Messenger, which Facebook announced last week, and the earlier inclusion of Voip (voice over internet protocol) calls and stickers.
Mr Zuckerberg also revealed plans to launch an associated service called Businesses on Messenger.
Using the app instead of email, the public will be able to hold conversations with companies from which they buy goods, or have other interactions with.
(BBC)
ANN.Az
Photo 
Video 
