Facebook Messenger now requires a Facebook account to sign up, removing the option to use a phone number, says a vast majority of users log in through Facebook (Kyle Wiggers/VentureBeat)

Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Facebook Messenger now requires a Facebook account to sign up, removing the option to use a phone number, says a vast majority of users log in through Facebook  —  Facebook has quietly removed the ability to sign up for Messenger without a Facebook account, the company confirmed to VentureBeat this afternoon.