Facebook Feature Phone App Tops 100 Million Users

Facebook’s app for feature phones, called Facebook for Every Phone, now boasts more than 100 million monthly users, many of them in developing countries. The stripped-down version of the social networking app uses less data than the Facebook app for smartphones.

CNET’s Don Reisinger reported, “Facebook is more mobile than ever, the company announced on Sunday. The social network’s Facebook for Every Phone app, now has more than 100 million monthly users, the company confirmed. The app, which launched in 2011, allows those with feature phones to access their News Feed, Messenger, and Photos from their phones. New users also can sign up and find friends from their feature phones.”

PCMag’s Chloe Albanesius noted, “Facebook For Every Phone debuted in July 2011 for more than 2,500 Java-enabled mobile phones. It went live via m.facebook.com and was also downloadable via a few smaller app stores, like GetJar, Appia, and Mobile Weaver. Facebook said today that the app is now available on more than 3,000 features phones, which can cost as little as $20.”

The Telegraph’s Sophie Curtis noted, “Although high-specification smartphones dominate mobile phone sales in much of the developed world, low-end feature phones are still a common sight in countries like India, Indonesia and the Philippines…. Importantly, Facebook For Every Phone is optimised to use less data than other mobile sites, making it more affordable to try and use. Facebook has partnerships with mobile operators around the world to offer free or discounted data access to the app.”

The New York Times quoted Clark Fredricksen, a vice president at eMarketer, who said, “In a lot of foreign markets, people think that the Internet is Facebook.”