Facebook Messenger has reportedly reached 1 billion users. However, there have been allegations that Facebook use strong arm tactics to reach its target.

Facebook announced on July 20 that around 1 billion people are using its Messenger every month. The social network site also said that it would be sending floating balloons to Facebook Messenger users as a "Thank You" for the use of their service.

An app or service used by a billion people is definitely a milestone. Average monthly photos sent through FB Messenger are estimated to be around 17 billion, according to TechCrunch. Every day, around 1 billion messages are sent by individuals and business entities.

Almost 400 million stickers and more 20 million GIF are exchanged daily. One out of ten VoIP communications are sent via FB Messenger. The service also has an army of more than 20,000 developers and almost 20,000 bots.

These impressive figures may have not been possible without strong pressure from Facebook. Users still using the Facebook Chat have no choice but to download Messenger since all their messages have been move there.

Many people were angry at Facebook back then for such underhanded tactic. At the app store, users gave it a only a star approval despite the huge amount of downloads for the app. However, it soon became apparent that the split from the Facebook app have been beneficial both to the company and the users. One of its chief benefits is speed.

Facebook Messenger was originally based on Beluga, a startup online chat. It was then bought by Facebook around five years ago. Beluga developers Lucy Zhang, Jonathan Perlow and Ben Davenport and at least three others form the core development team in improving the app.

Today, Facebook Messenger is available around the world except in certain parts like China where more than 700 million Chinese use WeChat instead.