Meta discontinues Messenger Lite for Android, it will be unavailable after Sep 18. Users need to install regular Messenger app instead

Ever since Facebook forced the separate Messenger app, I've refused to install it. Instead, when I see a message notification, I pop into a browser, head to Facebook.com and push the desktop version. While it's clunky, I've never had to download Messenger.

Is their messenger still a 150 MB monster that gets updated twice a day?

I wish someone discontinued Meta

I'll die before I install Facebook Messenger

Permanently Deleted

Permanently Deleted

And they put a notification on your phone about it that you can't remove... this infuriates me more than it should

I swear my battery life improved after I uninstalled messenger for a while and got worse after reinstalling recently.

I wouldn't have installed it except I was in the process of getting back in touch with a few old friends. Was totally worth it for that.

You can use Beeper to replace all your communication apps. That way you only have to install one app, and you don't have to have Meta installed.

This sucks.

Can't ditch it completely due to family, but got a few more contacts over on Signal after this announcement.

Just gonna leave this here: https://www.signal.org/

I can't uninstall the Facebook app from my phone (not unless I use ADB), so it's disabled. I uninstalled Messenger. I pinned a post on my FB page that said if people needed to contact me they can email me or text me. I have posted about why folks should leave these platforms until I am blue in the face. If they want to make the switch, they will. If they want to reach out, they will.

Eventually, I want to get an unlocked phone, load a custom ROM, and tell the big platforms to fuck off. I resent how difficult they have made that, and I resent how complacent we have become because of it.

Why still use Facebook when we have the Internet?

Here's an idea. Stop using FB.

I get it, your boomer parents/grandparents don't know how to use anything else... But you can show them. It's very similar and doesn't suck as much.

I understand this move from FB too... Rather than maintain two apps, that both do the same thing, just maintain one. However, without the ability to turn off all the bloat and crap in the one app to make it very similar to the other, I don't see that being viable for many, and I'm sure they don't let you do that, so, ha ha, get fucked.

Anyways, Facebook is a cancer.

Or install an app called Metal.

It's a wrapper for the mobile webpage with all the intrusive permissions disabled by default.

Permanently Deleted

Better idea don't install messenger at all

The main issue here is how aggressive Fuckbook is when it comes to the messager, since they started to hide it on mobile devices they fucked with every attempt to revive that functionality with a none Fuckbook apps till the creator gave up. They are bad enough with normal clients (most of those died for a reason) but somehow even worse when it comes to the messager!

Matrix with a facebook messenger bridge? I know just the one finnish instance that offers bridging (pikaviestin.fi), though. I host my own home server.

Users need to install regular Messenger app instead

No, they don't.

Would beeper be a better solution for you? Self-hosted beeper, and a matrix client on your phone.

I have personally made a switch to Delta Chat, and will be e-mailing people from now on. I will be checking facebook occasionally, as I face the same issue as others in this thread: Facebook is the default communication tool in my country. However, I have told everyone I'm connected with, that I no longer have a mobile app for facebook communication on my phone, and will only respond swiftly og they use e-mail or SMS. Let's see how that goes.

Well that's annoying. I only ever use it for if I'm trying to buy something off a stranger on one of those facebook market groups. Which only happens a couple of times a year.

So I guess I will have to install their big version and then uninstall it after I buy the thing.

Not incredibly surprising given how little it's been updated and how things like clicking links doesn't work. Definitely exhausted by how aggressively things are just getting worse now.

You can use Facebook Lite instead of the main Messenger app if you want to. It's got messaging integrated into it.

How will it affect me? Well! It won't because I dont use facebook. Lol

Are you using video/audio call functionality? If not, get on the beeper waiting list. It supports connecting to facebook messenger, but it doesn't support video/audio calls.

Nope.

It'll die.

We're all on another app anyway.

At least use messenger with vanced patches to get rid of all the ads in conversation view.

Lots of options aside from Facebook.

I don't use fakebook

I stopped using anything meta years ago. People who want to stay in touch with me and I them continued to stay in touch. If those people will not stay in touch with you, good riddance to them.

Welp that's not happening, so long Myspace, I mean book of faces

Something like Island/Insular/Shelter might help. I just discovered these apps recently and am currently testing Shelter. It seems to work.

Probably time to bridge from XMPP then

weird... i use Facebook Lite and Messenger lite prompted me to continue my conversation there

So now people relying on the Lite variants will not be able to chat anymore, as Facebook Lite requires Messenger Lite a little time after it got released?

Use slimsocial to reply to those contacts that still insist to use that messaging app and tell them that you aren't reachable over there anymore, ghost any subsequent message

Well, at least the full app has the opt-in E2EE chats.

This might be a bit annoying. On my Realme phone, no amount of setting changes stops it from killing Messenger randomly. It didn't kill Lite so I could trust it, and put up with it despite its issues.

@Suppoze Is it possible to use Facebook in a browser? Or are they forcing you to use their app?