Facebook starts ambitious plan to unify all of its instant messenger apps

[Chris Smith]

• Facebook has started merging Messenger with Instagram chat, which appears to be the first step towards the unified, end-to-end, instant chat service that Facebook has promised.
• The first changes concern Instagram’s user interface, as the app will soon support chats with Messenger.
• The cross-app chat functionality has not been implemented, so Instagram users can’t chat with Messenger users for the time being.
• It’s unclear when Messenger and Instagram will merge with WhatsApp, which is Facebook’s only end-to-end encrypted chat app right now.

Facebook surprised the world last year with a massive pivot towards enhanced user-privacy. The company announced its intention to unify all of its instant messengers platforms into a single product. The general idea is to allow any Facebook apps user to chat with anyone else without creating accounts on all the instant chat platform that the social network operates. Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are the company’s most popular chat apps, with the latter being the global leader by monthly users. Instagram also offers chat features to its users. Facebook plans to combine all three services under the same umbrella, and the same end-to-end encryption standard will protect all of them — currently, only WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted.

It’s unclear how long it’ll take for all three chat apps to run on the same platform, but Facebook has quietly begun the merge. Initially, Facebook wants to unify Messenger and Instagram chats, and some users have already started noticing the new functionality.

Continue reading...

Today's Top Deals

1. The biggest Amazon device sale of 2020 has begun – here are the 10 best deals
2. 3M respirators and FDA-authorized KN95 face masks on Amazon are finally available to everyone
3. 10 deals you don’t want to miss on Sunday: Lysol Spray, Fire TV Sticks, Echo speakers, Clorox Wipes, KN95 face masks, more

Trending Right Now:

1. Here’s when Fauci thinks the coronavirus pandemic will end and life will go back to normal
2. This new coronavirus breakthrough is key to helping determine if you’re infected
3. Study finds the coronavirus may have entered the U.S. in December 2019

Facebook starts ambitious plan to unify all of its instant messenger apps originally appeared on BGR.com on Mon, 17 Aug 2020 at 06:50:08 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Via BRG - Boy Genius Report