Facebook Messenger for Asha, Lumia and Nokia X

With support across all three Nokia mobile platforms, the popular private chat room is about to attract a whole new audience.

At MWC 2014, I spoke to Nokia’s Amit Patel, Vice President of Developer Relations, and asked him what apps he was looking forward to seeing on the Nokia X family. Facebook Messenger was the first app he mentioned.

Now, the trendy chat app is not only available for Nokia X, but also for Nokia Lumia and Nokia Asha devices. What a hero.

Stripping back likes, shares and personal feeds, Facebook Messenger concentrates purely on private conversations between friends. You don’t need the full Facebook app installed, either. Here, you can see who’s online, create group chats and send photos and stickers, all from within the standalone app.

If you’re using a Nokia Lumia your Facebook friends will be automatically added to your People Hub. You can also have notifications pop up on the Start Screen, while Nokia X and Asha owners will see notifications in Fastlane.

One great feature is the ability to share your location, allowing friends to see whether you’re nearby. You can also jump straight to a friends’ timeline if desired.

With many of us using Facebook’s Messages feature more than email for private chatting, we welcome with open arms the cross-platform support.

Regardless of whether you’re in the Lumia, Nokia X or Asha camp, you’ll be able to converse whenever, wherever.