Perhaps you were having a nice walk down memory lane exchanging Facebook messages with one of your high school friends who you haven’t seen in real life in over 14 years but hey, it’s Facebook. In the future if you want to take that conversation to your phone or tablet, you’ll have to download a separate messaging app.

Instead of going through the existing Facebook app that does everything else Facebookian — upload photos, post statuses, “like” your aunt’s repost of an inspirational quote — the social media company is forcing chat users to download the stand-alone Messenger app to get at messages on the go.

“Today we are starting to notify people that messages are moving out of the Facebook app and over to the Messenger app,” Facebook told the AFP. “To continue sending messages on mobile, people will need to install the Messenger app.”

The change will first show up in updates to iPhone and Android apps in “a handful” of European countries before spreading to the U.S.

However, users with Windows Phone and tablets won’t see any change and can still use the normal Facebook app for messages. Anyone with a lower-end Android device with memory constraints is also exempt, reports The Verge, as well as inside Paper, Facebook’s news app. For now.

In related news, from now on if anyone wants to comment on my Facebook page using their mobile devices I would appreciate it if you would first download an app that turns all words into kittens. Thanks.

Facebook smartphone chats pushed to Messenger app [AFP]
Facebook will turn off messaging in its mobile app, forcing you to download Messenger [The Verge]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.