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Facebook Messenger for Android to receive less-extensive rewrite
July 30, 2025
Facebookcompletely overhauledFacebook Messenger for theiOSplatform this week. While the company does plan to retouch Messenger for Android, the world’s most popular mobile operating system won’t receive the same extensively rewritten app that iOS did.
“Our goal is to build for the unique strengths of each platform,” said a Facebook spokesperson toAndroid Authorityvia email.
Facebook basically rewrote the entire Messenger codebase for Apple’s iOS platform. The goal, said Facebook, was to create a smaller, faster, simpler application that loads twice as quickly and takes up less space on the phone. Facebook distilled Messenger’s code by a massive 84% and retooled the feature list to fit the simpler build. The company did this through a project it callsProject LightSpeed. Importantly, Facebook claims this new mobile app for iOS users also puts down the bedrock that the company will use to anchor its futureprivate messaging services.
A Lite-r touch
Unlike the iOS mobile app, Messenger for Android will see Facebook following a different path. “We don’t plan to take the same exact approach as iOS, as we’ve had a Messenger Lite app on Android for years,” said Facebook toAndroid Authority.
It varies per device, butFacebook Messenger for Androidweighs in at about 225MB. That’s a lot of storage space for a messaging app.Facebook Messenger Litefor Android, by way of comparison, is much, much smaller at 8MB. TheLite variantof Messenger is typically recommended for those using low-cost devices, or those who live in areas with scattered or inconsistent cellular coverage.
“We do plan to bring in key elements from Project LightSpeed (e.g., building in a reusable way, creating a new server framework) to further improve reliability and performance for our Android users,” said the company.
What’s missing from this picture are the nitty gritty details. Facebook has yet to share the actual feature list and time table for delivering this renewed version of Facebook Messenger to Android users. We look forward to seeing what Facebook has in store.
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