Facebook originally created React Native in response to the growing popularity of mobile apps. They wanted a way to build mobile apps using React, which was already used extensively within Facebook for web applications. The first React Native commit on GitHub was in 2015 and it was officially released at Facebook’s React Conf in early 2015.
The Initial Promise of React Native
The goal of React Native was to allow developers to build mobile applications using JavaScript and React. Some key advantages of this approach included:
- Write Once, Run Anywhere – React Native allowed developers to write code once that could then be deployed to both iOS and Android platforms with minimal additional work.
- Live Reloading – React Native enabled instant app reloads, allowing developers to see changes right away without needing to recompile the app.
- Reuse of Web Code – For companies like Facebook with large existing codebases in JavaScript for web apps, React Native allowed reuse of that code for mobile.
- Accelerated Development – For React developers, React Native gave a big productivity boost and faster development cycles compared to native languages like Swift or Java.
- Access to Native APIs – React Native still allowed access to platform-specific APIs and components the same way native app development does.
The promise of React Native was clear – faster cross-platform development leveraging existing JavaScript code. And Facebook needed it to help accelerate its growing suite of mobile apps like Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and more.
Facebook’s Extensive Adoption of React Native
After open sourcing React Native in 2015, Facebook steadily adopted it across its apps:
- March 2016 – Facebook announces that one-third of the Facebook Ads Manager was rebuilt with React Native.
- April 2016 – Instagram launches its React Native implementation, powering parts of its feed, profile and more.
- May 2016 – Messenger also begins integrating React Native into parts of its app.
- September 2017 – Facebook announces React Native is now used in more than half of Facebook’s mobile codebase.
- April 2018 – Facebook reveals over 95% of new code in Facebook’s mobile apps is now written in React Native.
This highlights how React Native transitioned from an experiment into a core part of Facebook’s mobile engineering strategy in just a couple of years. It enabled Facebook to iterate and ship faster at its massive scale.
Continued Investment and Evolution
Facebook didn’t just adopt React Native and move on. They continued investing in its improvement and evolution:
- March 2017 – React Native 0.43 introduces significant architecture changes around how native dependencies are included.
- September 2017 – React Native 0.49 brings support for iOS 11, new APIs and Swift language integration.
- June 2018 – Facebook launches React Native Elements, a library of cross-platform UI components.
- November 2018 – React Native 0.57 overhauls the JavaScript layer for better performance and modern JavaScript syntax support like Async/Await.
- September 2019 – React Native 0.61 includes major improvements like autolinking, ES modules support, and more.
Facebook has also spearheaded new directions like React Native Fabric, a re-architecture focused on smoother developer workflows and app performance. The evolution continues in 2020 and beyond.
React Native at Facebook Today
So where does React Native stand at Facebook today? It remains a critical part of mobile development:
- Thousands of Facebook engineers use React Native daily.
- The majority of Facebook’s top mobile apps rely on React Native code.
- New mobile products and features launching regularly are built with React Native.
Facebook is more committed than ever to React Native. At the 2020 React Native Conference, Facebook engineers reiterated how integral React Native is to mobile development at Facebook and laid out priorities like:
- Continued improvements to developer workflows
- Updates to support new OS features and devices
- Better infrastructure and tools
- A focus on reliability and performance
They made it clear React Native will continue enabling Facebook to innovate and move fast on mobile for years to come.
Usage in Facebook’s Top Apps
Let’s take a closer look at how React Native powers some of Facebook’s most popular apps.
The core Facebook app was one of the first to adopt React Native. Its React Native implementation powers key experiences like:
- News Feed
- Notifications
- Profile pages
- Sharing (status updates, photos etc)
- Comments
- Messaging
These parts of the app require constantly adapting to new content and interactions at Facebook’s scale. React Native lets engineers evolve these rapidly while reusing business logic across platforms.
Instagram was rebuilt with React Native in 2016. Major parts of the app running React Native include:
- Feed
- Stories
- Explore
- Profile
- Camera
- Notifications
React Native powers the core in-app user experiences. For Instagram, it brought benefits like faster feature development across iOS and Android.
Messenger
Messenger began adopting React Native in 2016. Over the years it has migrated to using React Native in places like:
- Messaging
- Sharing
- Calling
- Group chats
- Notifications
Messenger also developed chat plugins and games with React Native. Its integration enabled more designers and engineers to build Messenger features faster.
Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace lets users discover, buy and sell items locally. React Native powers key Marketplace experiences on mobile like:
- Feed for browsing listings
- Posting a new listing
- Messaging and notifications
- Profile and account management
For Marketplace, React Native improved iteration speed as well as developer productivity.
React Native Usage Beyond Facebook’s Apps
While Facebook relies heavily on React Native, thousands of other companies use it for mobile development too. According to a 2020 survey by React Native itself, it has 97,000 monthly active apps in addition to Facebook’s apps.
Here are some other top apps built with React Native:
- Skype
- Tesla
- Bloomberg
- Uber Eats
- Discord
- Shopify
- Walmart
- WordPress
The list continues growing as more companies adopt React Native for faster cross-platform development. While no technology is a silver bullet, React Native proves a viable option for many mobile use cases.
Conclusion
In summary:
- Facebook created React Native in 2015 to power more of its mobile apps.
- Within a couple years, React Native was used extensively across Facebook’s biggest apps.
- Facebook continues heavily investing in evolving React Native and using it for new mobile features.
- Core in-app experiences across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and more are built with React Native.
- Thousands of other companies have also adopted React Native for building mobile apps.
So in 2022 and beyond, React Native remains a critical part of mobile development at Facebook. There is no indication of Facebook abandoning React Native – if anything, they are doubling down on it as a key part of their mobile-first strategy. For companies wanting to build mobile apps efficiently, React Native should remain a strong cross-platform option versus purely native languages.