Facebook faced a backlash last year for forcing users to download a separate Messenger app for mobile, and it looks like the web version is heading in the same direction. The social network has launched Messenger.com - a standalone site that lets users chat to Facebook friends privately on a browser in the same way they can on the Messenger app. For the time being users can still send, receive and view messages on Facebook, and the site has not announced any current plans to remove this feature yet. Facebook has launched Messenger.com (pictured) - a standalone site that lets people chat to their Facebook contacts, start group conversations and send photos in the same way they can on the app. Users can still send and receive messages on Facebook and it is not known yet whether this will be removed in due course. Facebook didn't reveal its future plans for the service, but told MailOnline: 'We're launching Messenger for web browsers - a standalone web chat product accessible via Messenger.com. 'Once logged in, people can dive directly into a dedicated desktop messaging experience, keeping their conversations going and picking up where they left off.' To use Messenger.com, users log in with Facebook credentials and the site will automatically import their contacts and current chats. These conversations are shown full screen, as opposed to the pop-up on Facebook or the half screen view on the main Facebook Messages page. None of the other Facebook buttons, including links to the News Feed, are visible, but settings can be managed by clicking the gear icon in the top left-hand corner. This menu lets users manage sounds, see desktop notifications and block users. WhatsApp first hinted it would let users make free calls to each other early last year. Now Android users can make voice calls and the feature will come to iOS soon. The latest version of the popular messaging app also has a cleaner layout with three tabs for contacts, chats and calls. Users simply have to click on the ‘Calls’ tab and choose a contact to phone a friend at no cost. However this only works between WhatsApp users and it relies on an internet connection. Jack Kent, principal mobile analyst at IHS Technology told MailOnline that by splitting Facebook services, it reduces the  different ways in which the site has to handle messages in its standard app and site. ‘With a portfolio of apps, there’s more room to manoeuvre; you don’t have to use Facebook anymore,' he added. The standalone site is the latest addition to the much-maligned service. At its F8 conference in San Francisco last month, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg announced it was turning Messenger into a platform for 'e-commerce, video and more'. During the event Facebook executives introduced more than 25 tools tailored to help developers 'build, grow, and monetise' mobile applications. Messenger was also upgraded to let users share photos, audio and videos, and make calls more easily. 'They are trying to make Messenger a full-featured and rich media platform,' Gartner analyst Brian Blau said at the conference. 'I think that they are interested in letting people know that Facebook is not a single app company, it is an app constellation.' Users log in with their Facebook credentials and the site  automatically imports their contacts and current chats. These conversations are shown full screen. No other Facebook buttons, including links to the News Feed, are visible, but settings (pictured) can be managed using the gear icon in the top left-hand corner . Messenger.com is the latest addition to the much-maligned service. At its F8 conference in San Francisco last month, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg (pictured) announced it was turning Messenger application into a platform for 'e-commerce, video and more' in a bid to shake up online communication . 'Voice calling has been ramping up, and by separating [Messenger], Facebook can make this feature available. It would be too cumbersome to add to the standard site,' continued Mr Kent. 'This also makes voicecalling easier to deploy in other countries.' Facebook-owned WhatsApp started rolling out its own internet calls to Android users this week, and the feature is coming to iOS 'soon.' One of the Messenger upgrades was designed to connect customers with companies, called Messenger Business. 'We're making Messenger a place where you can easily communicate with the businesses you care about in addition to the people you care about,' Mr Zuckerberg said. During the event, Facebook executives introduced more than 25 products and tools to help developers 'build, grow, and monetise' applications. Messenger was also upgraded to let users share photos, audio and videos and make calls (left). And Messenger can now be used for making payments to friends (right) And early last month Facebook announced Messenger can be used for making payments to friends, and that it was testing a 'buy' button to allow users to make purchases directly from Facebook pages. Elsewhere, the Messenger team is working with partners including ESPN and the Bad Robot film production company owned by Hollywood director J.J. Abrams to release applications that work on the Messenger platform. Additionally, Facebook introduced a tool designed to make it easy to take public video posted on the social network and embed it on other sites. Facebook launched Messenger back in 2011 but split the app from Facebook at the start of last year and forced people to download both apps if they wanted to use the two services. One of these Messenger upgrades was designed to connect customers with companies (example pictured), called Messenger Business. 'We're making Messenger a place where you can easily communicate with the businesses you care about in addition to the people you care about,' Mr Zuckerberg said . At the time, members said they were outraged by the changes and flocked to the respective app stores to complain. They were also concerned about the app’s permissions that gave Facebook access to send texts and make calls on the user’s device. Facebook was then forced to respond with a blog post explaining why it needed certain permissions. It said: ‘Almost all apps need certain permissions to run on Android, and we use these permissions to run features in the app. ‘Keep in mind that Android controls the way the permissions are named, and the way they’re named doesn’t necessarily reflect the way the Messenger app and other apps use them.’
Messenger.com is a standalone site that lets you chat to Facebook friends .
You can chat and send files in the same way you can on Messenger app .
Users can still send, receive and view messages on Facebook .
And it is not known yet whether this feature will be removed in due course .
Facebook faced a backlash last year for forcing users to download a separate Messenger app for mobile, and it looks like the web version is heading in the same direction. The social network has launched Messenger.com - a standalone site that lets users chat to Facebook friends privately on a browser in the same way they can on the Messenger app. For the time being users can still send, receive and view messages on Facebook, and the site has not announced any current plans to remove this feature yet. Facebook has launched Messenger.com (pictured) - a standalone site that lets people chat to their Facebook contacts, start group conversations and send photos in the same way they can on the app. Users can still send and receive messages on Facebook and it is not known yet whether this will be removed in due course. Facebook didn't reveal its future plans for the service, but told MailOnline: 'We're launching Messenger for web browsers - a standalone web chat product accessible via Messenger.com. 'Once logged in, people can dive directly into a dedicated desktop messaging experience, keeping their conversations going and picking up where they left off.' To use Messenger.com, users log in with Facebook credentials and the site will automatically import their contacts and current chats. These conversations are shown full screen, as opposed to the pop-up on Facebook or the half screen view on the main Facebook Messages page. None of the other Facebook buttons, including links to the News Feed, are visible, but settings can be managed by clicking the gear icon in the top left-hand corner. This menu lets users manage sounds, see desktop notifications and block users. WhatsApp first hinted it would let users make free calls to each other early last year. Now Android users can make voice calls and the feature will come to iOS soon. The latest version of the popular messaging app also has a cleaner layout with three tabs for contacts, chats and calls. Users simply have to click on the ‘Calls’ tab and choose a contact to phone a friend at no cost. However this only works between WhatsApp users and it relies on an internet connection. Jack Kent, principal mobile analyst at IHS Technology told MailOnline that by splitting Facebook services, it reduces the  different ways in which the site has to handle messages in its standard app and site. ‘With a portfolio of apps, there’s more room to manoeuvre; you don’t have to use Facebook anymore,' he added. The standalone site is the latest addition to the much-maligned service. At its F8 conference in San Francisco last month, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg announced it was turning Messenger into a platform for 'e-commerce, video and more'. During the event Facebook executives introduced more than 25 tools tailored to help developers 'build, grow, and monetise' mobile applications. Messenger was also upgraded to let users share photos, audio and videos, and make calls more easily. 'They are trying to make Messenger a full-featured and rich media platform,' Gartner analyst Brian Blau said at the conference. 'I think that they are interested in letting people know that Facebook is not a single app company, it is an app constellation.' Users log in with their Facebook credentials and the site automatically imports their contacts and current chats. These conversations are shown full screen. No other Facebook buttons, including links to the News Feed, are visible, but settings (pictured) can be managed using the gear icon in the top left-hand corner . Messenger.com is the latest addition to the much-maligned service. At its F8 conference in San Francisco last month, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg (pictured) announced it was turning Messenger application into a platform for 'e-commerce, video and more' in a bid to shake up online communication . 'Voice calling has been ramping up, and by separating [Messenger], Facebook can make this feature available. It would be too cumbersome to add to the standard site,' continued Mr Kent. 'This also makes voicecalling easier to deploy in other countries.' Facebook-owned WhatsApp started rolling out its own internet calls to Android users this week, and the feature is coming to iOS 'soon.' One of the Messenger upgrades was designed to connect customers with companies, called Messenger Business. 'We're making Messenger a place where you can easily communicate with the businesses you care about in addition to the people you care about,' Mr Zuckerberg said. During the event, Facebook executives introduced more than 25 products and tools to help developers 'build, grow, and monetise' applications. Messenger was also upgraded to let users share photos, audio and videos and make calls (left). And Messenger can now be used for making payments to friends (right) And early last month Facebook announced Messenger can be used for making payments to friends, and that it was testing a 'buy' button to allow users to make purchases directly from Facebook pages. Elsewhere, the Messenger team is working with partners including ESPN and the Bad Robot film production company owned by Hollywood director J.J. Abrams to release applications that work on the Messenger platform. Additionally, Facebook introduced a tool designed to make it easy to take public video posted on the social network and embed it on other sites. Facebook launched Messenger back in 2011 but split the app from Facebook at the start of last year and forced people to download both apps if they wanted to use the two services. One of these Messenger upgrades was designed to connect customers with companies (example pictured), called Messenger Business. 'We're making Messenger a place where you can easily communicate with the businesses you care about in addition to the people you care about,' Mr Zuckerberg said . At the time, members said they were outraged by the changes and flocked to the respective app stores to complain. They were also concerned about the app’s permissions that gave Facebook access to send texts and make calls on the user’s device. Facebook was then forced to respond with a blog post explaining why it needed certain permissions. It said: ‘Almost all apps need certain permissions to run on Android, and we use these permissions to run features in the app. ‘Keep in mind that Android controls the way the permissions are named, and the way they’re named doesn’t necessarily reflect the way the Messenger app and other apps use them.’
that lets users chat to Facebook friends can still send, receive and view messages on a standalone site that lets people chat to their send photos in the same way they can on the app. Users can still send and receive messages on Facebook and it is not known yet whether this will be removed in due course. Facebook didn't