Facebook Reveals Partnership With Uber

Facebook announced recently that it was working with Uber to allow users to get a ride through its Messenger app. All users have to do is send an address to a friend through Messenger, and the friend can tap it to bring up a box indicating “Request a Ride.” A car button can also be tapped by users to hail a ride.

The two companies said users can continue using Messenger while the ride order is being processed. Messenger can also be used by new users to sign up for Uber. The transport networking company said the first ride of new users is free up to a maximum of $20.

The move of the social networking company is its latest effort in expanding the service offered by Messenger. Competitors, such as WeChat in China, have set up their own messenger applications into powerful Internet hubs by linking other features such as shopping, gaming and payments.

Facebook Reveals Partnership With Uber - image credit: yelp.com

The Messenger app of Facebook is used by around 700 million people at least once a month. However, Facebook is aiming to increase the service it offers and entice people to frequently use the app. With this in mind, the company is working with a number of app makers like Square and Giphy for payments and entertainment, respectively. A number of new features were added into the app to allow it to compete with its competitors such as Google Now and Siri of Apple.

On the other hand, Uber is also working with other companies to increase accessibility to its service. It is working with United Airlines, the Apple Watch and OpenTable.

For the moment, Messenger is limited to Uber. But, Facebook is currently negotiating with Lyft to make its service available to the ride-sharing service by January. This was revealed by a person who has some knowledge about the matter. An earlier report from the Wall Street Journal revealed plans for the partnership between the two companies.

Posted by George Daniels on Thursday December 17 2015, 11:56 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Technology. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0