Messenger app is getting a fresh, simpler look and feel

The Facebook Messenger app is planning on cutting down unnecessary widgets and getting simpler. Through the removal of the discovery tab, the app is aiming on streamlining their services away from a cluttered and overly stimulating environment. The discovery tab was an attempt from the social network to inject its ill-fated chatbot platform into its private messaging app.

Following an extensive Messenger redesign announced back in 2018, Facebook pledged to make the app simpler and less cluttered after years of bloat.

Now, the app has been streamlined and brought back in line with its core role as a functional messaging app. Part of that process has meant removing all the business-focused elements of the app that weren’t serving users and were instead only there to help promote Messenger as some kind of text-based customer service hub.

You could also find Facebook Instant Games, the company’s attempt to revive its once flourishing web-based gaming platform in a mobile setting. Instant Games still exist on the web, but they’re being removed alongside Discover in this new Messenger update. The games can’t be accessed from the main Facebook app, either.

In the new design, Facebook is promoting a “People” section where you can see large squares dedicated to friends who have recently updated their Facebook Stories, as well as a contact list organized to promote your most used contacts who are actively online. It’s much cleaner and should go a long way in making Messenger easier to navigate when you’re not flooded by peripheral features and attempts to grab your attention.