Meta will discontinue SMS support in Facebook Messenger for Android from September 2023

Meta has announced that its Facebook Messenger app for Android will no longer support SMS messages after September 28, 2023.

This move marks a shift from Meta's previous attempts to provide an all-in-one messaging experience to Android users through Facebook Messenger. The app initially introduced SMS support in 2012, but it was discontinued the following year. In 2016, the company reintegrated SMS support, until now. If users don't select a new default SMS messaging app, all text messages will automatically be directed to Google's Android Messages app.

This move by Meta is not isolated. Back in October 2022, Signal discontinued SMS support from its Android, explaining that as it provides end-to-end encryption by default, supporting SMS, a technology that does not offer any privacy or security features, no longer made sense.