There’s a lot of noise surrounding the Facebook Messenger app lately. Facebook has notified users that they will no longer be able to send and receive messages unless they download the Facebook Messenger app.

Not only do people not like to be told what to do, the Messenger app is rife with problems when it comes to Android downloads - or so it seems.

The Real Truth

In a recent Huffington Post article, the writer stated that the permissions attached to the Messenger app were unfair and somewhat unlawful. The article stated that Facebook wants to be able to call phone numbers without user permissions, and to snap photos when necessary without permission (amongst other things). But Facebook has fought back against these accusations stating that the permissions language used when people sign up for the app is the language that Android developers must attach to any new app – in other words, Facebook did not write the permission language.

Further, the Android terms have been changed since the Huffington Post article was printed, so those terms are no longer valid. As far as iOS is concerned, Apple does not require all developers to immediately adopt Apple language and permissions, so the terms for Apple users are different. That leaves Facebook’s own policies to consider.

Facebook Has Its Own Permissions

Even though Facebook had to adopt the permissions language that Android has created, the company still has its own language attached to any app download. That means that your Messenger all is susceptible to the same terms that anything you do via Facebook is. You should read through all of Facebook’s policies before you use the site or any app attached to it. That said, the Android rumors that are floating around simply aren’t true.

What is true, though, is the fact that Facebook is forcing people to adopt the Messenger app. Why would the company make this app mandatory? Facebook claims that the app will make both its main app (Facebook) and Messenger faster. Plus, the company spent all that time and money developing the app, so someone has to use it, right?

What’s True and What’s Not True?

Facebook is forcing everyone that currently uses Messenger through the original Facebook app to download the separate Messenger app that much is true. If you don’t like this idea, you don’t have to download the app – it’s that simple. You can use another text service to keep in touch with your friends; there are tons to choose from. It’s also true that you will have to agree to Facebook’s policies in order to use the app on iOS or Android.

What’s not true is that Facebook wrote a whole bunch of unfair rules for Android users. Facebook adhered to Android’s policies when creating the Android Messenger app. Whether or not you want to use Facebook’s Messenger app is up to you, but now you know what the real story is, so you don’t have to delete the app on principle – and, remember, those Android policies have since changed, so look into the current details to see what you are really agree to.