Until now, users were able to sign up via their mobile number to Facebook's Messenger or Messenger Lite platforms. The company has now removed the ability to sign up for the Messenger service in a new update without the need for a Facebook account.


It means that users are no longer able to register via their phone number to Messenger services and have to create a Facebook account to do the same. The removal of the feature was confirmed by a Facebook spokesman who explained to VentureBeat in an email."If you're new to Messenger, you'll notice you need a Facebook account to chat with friends and close connections.We found that the vast majority of people already log in via Facebook using Messenger, and we wanted to simplify the process. If you're using Messenger without a Facebook account, you don't have to do anything.


In anticipation of Facebook's plan to unify all its messaging services-WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger, the move is thought to have been made. To have a cross-platform chat service with end-to-end encryption, the company wants to operate the three services on the same infrastructure.