Facebook has announced a new milestone in its mission to capture emerging markets — over 100 million people are using its Facebook for Every Phone app, which runs on around 3,000 feature phone models worldwide. The Java app is optimised for low data consumption while offering many of the features found on smartphones, and some carriers in countries such as India, the Philippines, and Indonesia offer free or discounted data for its users. It arose from the acquisition of Israel-based Snaptu in 2011.

Facebook is not making much money from its operations in developing countries just yet. The New York Times reports that it has only recently begun selling ads to Facebook for Every Phone users, and emerging markets are not expected to make up a major portion of revenue any time soon. But by expanding its user base as much as possible now, Facebook stands to profit further down the line when smartphone, tablet, and broadband penetration catches up in these countries.