Facebook is risking the wrath of its 900 million active users by pressing ahead with plans to automatically replace email addresses listed in their contacts with a @facebook.com address.
The move, which was revealed in April but had little coverage, means that users who want to keep their original email address will have to manually go into their contact details and change it back to its original setting.
Critics claim it is a cynical move designed to boost traffic to the social media site – strengthening the case for brands to advertise on the site – and inflate the number of @facebook.com email addresses.
Meanwhile Facebook forums and Twitter have been inundated with miffed users, amid claims the change is being forced upon them.
Facebook email launched 18 months ago, amid warnings that it would render obsolete millions of email marketing addresses and even kill off Gmail. But so far it has been a major flop after being shunned by the vast majority of users.
One year after the @facebook.com email addresses were set up, fewer than 0.0015% of all permission emails – equivalent to just over 1,000 per 1 million email contacts – had that address, according to Emailvision.
A Facebook statement said: “We are providing every Facebook user with his or her own Facebook email address because we find that many users find it useful to connect with each other, but using Facebook email is completely up to you.”
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