Mirroring its rollout of free VoIP calling for iOS, Facebook has updated its Messenger app for Android to allow free calling for users in the US. The free calling service launched for Canadian Android users in early March, so today's announcement greatly broadens the scope of the company's efforts to become the one way we all communicate digitally. In order to call a friend for free using Facebook Messenger, tap the "i" button inside a conversation and then select Free Call. You do not need to update the Messenger app to use the feature. If you're using Chat Heads to message friends, you'll need to tap the three "more info" dots next to a person's name to move the conversation to the Messenger app before you can make a call.

The social network says that as of today, 24 countries now have access to VoIP calling on Android. A Facebook engineer told us a few weeks ago that launching VoIP calling added up to "only a blip" on the company's servers, so a global rollout shouldn't be too far down the road. Considering the breakneck pace at which Facebook plans to update its new Home launcher for Android, it also shouldn't be long before making calls feels as integrated as messaging with Chat Heads.