You can now sign up for Messenger with just a phone number, no Facebook account required

Facebook Messenger has 700 million monthly users, and each of them them requires an accompanying Facebook account. Today, however, that changes.

Facebook has removed the need to have a Facebook account, or for that matter an email address, to sign up for its messaging service. Now, on the Messenger welcome screen, users will see a new “Not On Facebook?” button where you can submit your name and a valid phone number.

On the company blog, Facebook notes, “With this update, more people can enjoy all the features that are available on Messenger — including photos, videos, group chats, voice and video calling, stickers and more.” The signup process is now identical to another Facebook-owned messaging service, WhatsApp, which authenticates using a phone number.

Facebook has first opened this up to those located in Canada, US, Peru and Venezuela.

[source] Facebook [/source]