Facebook Messenger Commits To Trimming The Fat In 2018

These days, Facebook Messenger is a service attempting to wear many hats. Over the past couple of years, we've seen Facebook pack Messenger with a bunch of different features, whether that's processing payments or playing games with friends. While some of those services are good, feature creep has caused the Messenger we use today to feel a little bloated.

This isn't just my observation, but rather Facebook's own admission. In a new blog post today, Facebook's David Marcus looks at what's ahead for Messenger in 2018, and one of the six things he highlights is a new focus on simplicity. This, by extension, means trimming the fat that has accumulated as Facebook has tried to turned Messenger into a service that can do everything.

"Over the last two years, we built a lot of capabilities to find the features that continue to set us apart," Marcus writes. "A lot of them have found their product market fit; some haven't. While we raced to build these new features, the app became too cluttered. Expect to see us invest in massively simplifying and streamlining Messenger this year."

What that means for the end user is currently up in the air. Marcus doesn't discuss which features Facebook is planning to cut, nor does he indicate if this means that Facebook will look to do more than simply remove little-used features. It seems that we're going to have to wait and find out just what Facebook plans to do in its quest for a simpler, lighter Messenger.

Aside from this promise to pare back on Messenger's bloat, Marcus says that 2018 will bring a larger focus on things like real time communication, group chat, and Messenger as both a customer service and marketing tool. You can read all about Facebook's vision for Messenger in 2018 over in Marcus's note, but in the meantime, head down to the comments section and tell us which Messenger features you could live without.