Facebook is set to launch several separate mobile apps for messaging, photo sharing and more.
We’ve already seen a redesigned Messenger app for Android and iOS which focuses on chat, and now Facebook is planning to spin off other elements of the website into individual apps, according to The Verge. Referring to its current Instagram and Messenger apps, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced earlier this month “In the future, we expect to develop more of these services to help people share”.
Apps that Facebook could put out include a weather app, a calendar app and a mobile news reader. Many news sites now encourage users to sign in to their sites with their Facebook credentials, so Facebook could easily become a news aggregator.
The shift towards separate apps is likely to be welcomed by Facebook mobile users fed up with having to wade through so many options when using the social media site on their phones. Rather than firing up Facebook, you’d simply select which Facebook app to open based on what you want to do on the site.
At present, if you want to contribute to Facebook on your phone you have the choice of updating your status, uploading a photo and checking in. Viewing options include the News Feed (sorted by All Friends or the Most Recent), Requests, Messsages, Notifications, Search and More – where you can view Notes, games and apps and have a nose at groups and pages you’re linked to. No wonder Facebook thinks it’s time to simplify things.
The change of tack also makes sense because more of us are using Facebook primarily on our phones rather than on the desktop. Simpler apps could leave more room for ads, of course – something Facebook is no doubt planning to exploit. Last year, in response to industry criticism that Facebook isn’t making money through mobile platforms, Zuckerberg said 23 percent of its revenue was already derived through mobile.
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