Facebook has announced another milestone on its messaging app, reaching 500 million active monthly users.

Peter Martinazzi, Facebook's director of product management, announced the new accomplishment on Facebook's Newsroom, stating "This is an exciting milestone but with a half billion people relying on Messenger to communicate and connect, it is also a reminder that there is so much left for us to do."

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Facebook Messenger launched in 2011, one of the social network's first standalone applications for mobile. The sole purpose is to make messaging easier on a mobile phone, using either WiFi or cellular to send messages to Facebook friends.

Since the app's launch in 2011, Facebook has improved it with new photo, video and sticker messaging options. Users can make group conversations and even chat for free over WiFi or cellular - making Facebook Messenger a rival to traditional cellphone calls.

Facebook Messenger received a big boost in usage this year, when the team removed messaging from the core Facebook app. Facebook essentially forced users to download the Facebook Messenger app, and while the Internet did throw a tantrum over the move, users have adopted the new standalone application.

It is still not clear what Facebook intends to do with its other messaging service, WhatsApp. Currently at 650 million active monthly users, WhatsApp is larger than Facebook Messenger and more welcomed in places like China and India.

There has been no announcement of a merger between the two platforms, although it is clear Facebook is starting to influence some of the development choices at WhatsApp, with the new VoIP service coming to the newest update.

Having two messaging services vying for users is not the best way to run a business, especially since there is a lot of crossover between WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger users.

Perhaps Facebook will look to integrate friends and contacts more heavily into WhatsApp in the next few updates, and make it the Southeast Asian portal to Facebook - currently banned in China.

TagsFacebook Messenger, Social network, messaging apps, WhatsApp