Facebook’s Messenger app will disappear from Apple Watch smartwatches starting May 31, though users will still be able to see incoming messages. The removal of the app means that users will no longer be able to reply to Facebook messages on their watch and will instead have to resort to the phone app. The Messenger app was introduced to Apple smartwatches in 2015, offering features like sending audio clips, stickers, and quick replies – but didn’t allow the user to send text replies. If you’ve used an Apple Watch, you know that trying to write a message on its screen is not very comfortable, so this made a lot of sense. In recent years, more messaging apps have started to move away from their watch counterparts, some examples being Slack, Twitter, Uber, and Instagram, which all require users to access their phones to view and fully access the app. Therefore, Facebook seems to simply follow the current trend. There is confirmation of goodbye to Messenger from the Apple Watch “People will still be able to receive Messenger notifications on their Apple Watch when they are connected, but starting in early June they will no longer be able to respond from their watch,” a Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch. “But you can still use Messenger on your iPhone, desktop, and web, where we’re working to make your personal messages end-to-end encrypted.” Obviously, this has not been liked by many users who are already showing their frustration with the fact that Meta removes the Messenger application from their Apple Watch, but in general what is being expressed is a point of nostalgia rather than anger. One example is a person on Reddit stating that “This is not cool. The Messenger app was never great, but I always hate to see native Apple Watch apps disappear.” The reasons for the decision are not clear The reasons for saying goodbye to Messenger from the Apple Watch are not clear. Thus, it is not known if the design, accessibility options or costs were responsible for Meta’s decision to remove it from the Apple Watch (it could all be due to a combination of all of the above). We will have to wait for Meta to give the penitent explanations that have led him to decide this – and if this will also apply to Android. It is curious that this decision occurs now that WhatsApp is developing an application for Google’s Wear OS operating system. This will allow users to not only check their messages on their watch, but also have end-to-end encryption that WhatsApp is known for. This is certainly striking because both companies are owned by Meta. >
