How (not) to transition an app between companies.

Morgan Gangwere Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jan 11, 2017

Facebook’s app on Windows 10 has had a storied history. Originally, the version that shipped on every Windows 10 mobile device was built by a team inside Microsoft. The app does exactly what you’d expect a Facebook client to do: It has a fairly good grasp of what makes the timeline work, has comments, mostly feels like it fits within the context of the platform. I had some nitpicks (It definitely has the “Facebook” look to it, not the defined “Microsoft” look. I can understand that, though.)

Recently (within the last few months, I’d assume,) Microsoft and Facebook came to a nexus and said “You know what? Facebook should own the Facebook app on Windows 10.” And so Microsoft started (quietly) pushing a new app built by Facebook.

They did this through the Photos app, mostly; It’s a part of the new Share sequence: Suggested apps based on what you have installed are shown for particular types of images. In this case, my phone suggested that I install the Facebook app.

I wondered why it was suggesting an app I thought I already had installed. Curious, I booped the option and it installed in the background. When I went to my start screen and booped the Facebook icon I have pinned there, I was greeted with a bit of an unpleasant surprise: the old app simply refused to start, full stop. End of story, we’re done, packed up, toss me out in the trash.

In the ever knowledgeable words of Anon, “lol wut?”

Note: this is the version I’ve had pinned to my start screen since I got the phone. I’ve been consistently and pleasantly surprised at how much I like the Facebook app that ships with Windows 10, but was disappointed heavily when I was often unable to even interact with the Messenger app on mobile — a long standing bug had caused touch input to simply not register — much less enjoy the buggy experience.

“Well, okay, I guess,” I said to myself. I grappled around and uninstalled the “outdated” version. Pulling up the new version required me to log in again, re-do my 2FA and authorize the device again, and what did I get?

I’ll give you a second to think.

Ready?