Facebook Home reaches 1m user mark

Graeme Parton +

Facebook has announced that a million people have chosen to download its latest mobile offering, Facebook Home, in its first four weeks of availability.

The social media giant has said that while this number fits in with the initial expectations, feedback had been received and had been duly acted on. For those who have started to use the software, the first update was released late last week.

Unveiled amongst considerable hype last month, Facebook Home is a layer that can be added to the already-popular Android operating system. It is designed to allow enhanced integration of the user’s Facebook profile with their smartphone – making simple tasks like update posting and messaging much easier.

Facebook said at a recent presentation that it had seen a 25% increase in user engagement with the site’s News Feed feature since the new app was released on the Google Play market.

The company has also been monitoring the effect this new feature has had on user interaction and reported that it had seen a 7% rise in the number of people using its messaging service and a 10% increase in the number of messages being sent.

As it stands, Facebook Home is only officially available on four Android handsets. Many smartphone owners, however, have made use of a hacked version for unsupported devices. It is expected that the app could see a further surge in popularity once it is made available on a wider range of handsets. Facebook’s Director of Product, Adam Mosseri, did hint during the presentation that two additional devices are currently in testing but won’t be released for a few months.

The rise in popularity of the new launcher and the continued market domination enjoyed by Facebook will be interesting news for those using inbound marketing techniques. With Home making it even easier for users to interact with brands and share amongst friends, the spotlight is firmly on the need for high quality content.