Messenger now forces you to have Facebook to create an account

Until recently it was possible to create a Messenger account using just a mobile number. However, this option is no longer available and new users should now have a Facebook account.

The discovery was made by some users, and complaints started to appear on Reddit. This is because users are also unable to sign in to their Messenger account without having a linked Facebook account.

Facebook Messenger: Facebook Help Center confirms the change

Confirmation of this change can is also available on Facebook’s own Help Center. “Can I sign up for Messenger without a Facebook account?” is now a question with a negative answer.

“No, You have to create a Facebook account to use Messenger”.This is a change that does not appeal to many users. Who like to use Messenger to talk to friends or family but don’t want to have a Facebook account.

“I was trying to set up a second account on Messenger and there’s no longer an option for signing up without Facebook. Now you should create a FB profile. I was wondering if anyone else is experiencing this or has gotten around it” said a user on Reddit.

It is now up to the users in this issue to migrate to another service, or create a Facebook account for that purpose alone. We hope that Facebook will not remember to do the same with WhatsApp.

Facebook’s strategy is understood in relation to Messenger. However, I hope this will not happen on WhatsApp. This is a service that, despite the connection to the company, many people use without even knowing that it belongs to Facebook. If Facebook also changes its policy here, many users should look for alternatives, such as Telegram.

It is worth to mention that due to a patent infringement case that Facebook recently lost, its apps like WhatsApp and Instagram may soon be unavailable, at least in Germany where it lost the case. Blackberry dragged Facebook to court over WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram. Blackberry claims that these apps are infringing its patent. The preliminary verdict of the court is in favour of Blackberry. In its current form, Facebook may no longer offer some of its own apps, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram in Germany.