In the future, using Messenger will no longer require a Facebook ID.
In the future, the Messenger instant messaging platform can be used without a Facebook ID. Adobe Stock / AOP
Facebook and the instant messaging platform Messenger have gone hand in hand until now. If you wanted to communicate in Messenger, you should also have had a Facebook ID.
However, now the social media giant Meta has begun to inform its EU users that in the future Messenger can also be used without a Facebook ID.
The change is based on the EU’s new digital market regulation. The arrival of Meta’s Threads service in Europe was also previously delayed because the EU would not have accepted a model where an Instagram account would have been required to use Threads, as in the United States.
– Due to the changing legislation in your region, we let you make a choice that can change the way your Facebook data is used in your Messenger experience, says the announcement seen by Iltalehti.
Through the notification, you can make a choice whether you want to continue using Messenger with Facebook credentials as before or whether you want to create a new account that only allows you to use Messenger.
This is what happens if you enable a Messenger account
If the user chooses a separate Messenger account, they will be logged out of Messenger. Old Messenger conversations can still be found on Facebook, but Meta suggests that not necessarily forever and urges you to retrieve the messages.
With the new Messenger account, you won’t be able to see old conversations, but you can start new ones in the same way as before. Contacts from the Facebook account are not automatically transferred to the contacts of the new Messenger account, but this can be done manually.
According to Meta, there will be changes to the operation of the original Facebook account, even if it is disconnected from the Messenger application.
On the other hand, you cannot use features that are based on Facebook functionality with a Messenger account. These include community discussions and stories.
For now, Meta does not allow people under the age of 18 to create a separate Messenger account from Facebook.