WATCH: Mark Zuckerberg explains why Facebook forced users to download Messenger app

Forcing users of social networking giant Facebook to download and install a separate Messenger app has been a tough choice, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted Friday (PHL time).

 

In his first town hall question-and-answer session, Zuckerberg also acknowledged they have much work to do in terms of gaining users' trust on the separate app.

 

"We realize we have a lot to earn in terms of trust and proving that this standalone Messenger experience is going to be really good. And we're really committed to doing that. And we have a team of a lot of our most talented people doing that," he said.

 

Jump to the 5-minute mark in the video below to see Zuckerberg's response:

 

Earlier this year, Facebook forced mobile users to download and install a standalone Messenger app, but many users questioned the need for it.

 

Initial reviews on Apple's App Store saw some users branding it as "stupid" and "so annoying," with others going so far as viewing it as a threat to privacy.

 

The question on Messenger was the first to be asked in the question-and-answer session.

 

But Zuckerberg said that with a growing number of people using Facebook for messaging, the main Facebook app may not be able to provide the best experience.

 

He said having to open the main app and go through several steps to access the Messenger tab would slice of precious seconds.

 

Also, he pointed out that on mobile devices, each app can focus on doing one thing well, and the main Facebook app is good for News Feed where one shares content.

 

"We thought even though it was a short term painful thing, to ask folks to install a separate messaging app, we knew we could never deliver the quality of experience inside as just a tab in the main Facebook app. If we wanted to focus on serving this well, we had to build a dedicated and focused experience," he said.

 

"Those are some of the hardest tradeoffs we make in our product development at Facebook, because we realize we're not just building products for a single person, we're building for an entire community and we're building to make things to make that entire community communicate and stay connected," he added.

 

He also acknowledged asking everyone in the Facebook community to install a new app such as Messenger is a "big ask."

 

Yet, he said Facebook users usually message people 15 to 20 times per day.

 

"Having to go into an app and wait for it to load and take a bunch of steps to get to your messages or send a message is a lot of friction... We felt we can deliver the best experience in doing that," he said.

 

"We believe messaging is one of the few things people actually do more than social networking. In a lot of countries we see that maybe 85 percent of people are online and use Facebook, but maybe 95 percent of people or (in some countries) as much as 99 percent of people use SMS or send text messages," he added. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News