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Facebook rebuilds Messenger iOS app to be faster, simpler

The new version will load twice as fast, the company says.

Abrar Al-Heeti Technology Reporter
Abrar Al-Heeti is a technology reporter for CNET, with an interest in phones, streaming, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. She's also worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.
Expertise Abrar has spent her career at CNET analyzing tech trends while also writing news, reviews and commentaries across mobile, streaming and online culture. Credentials
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Abrar Al-Heeti
Facebook Messenger

Starting today, Facebook is rolling out a revamped version of Messenger.

Facebook

Facebook's Messenger is getting an upgrade. The social networking giant on Monday said it'll be rolling out a faster, simpler version of the iOS app over the next few weeks. 

The new iteration of Messenger will load twice as fast and be one-fourth its original size, Facebook says. That means it'll start, download and update more quickly for everyone, even people who have older devices or are in areas with lower connectivity. 

"We reduced Messenger's core code by 84 percent -- going from 1.7+ million lines of code to 360,000 -- and we rebuilt our features to fit a new simplified infrastructure," the company said in a statement. "Fewer lines of code makes the app lighter and more responsive, and a streamlined code base means engineers can innovate more quickly."

Facebook says Messenger has more than 1 billion users. 

Some features of the app will be temporarily unavailable during the rebuild, but the company says it's working to bring them back soon. Facebook also noted that this measure "lays the foundation to fulfill our vision for private messaging and interoperability across apps," as it plans to integrate Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram

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