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- Facebook is finally starting to integrate direct messaging from Instagram and Messenger.
- And the unification comes amid a slowdown in the growth of Facebook’s core platform.
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Facebook has been driving the integration of its messaging apps since early 2019 and will finally do so by allowing users of its Messenger and Instagram apps to message each other, according to The New York Times.
Facebook is beginning the direct messaging integration of Instagram and Messenger.
eMarketer
Users can send photos, videos or text messages between Instagram and Messenger, and Facebook said it will add other new features to Instagram, such as the ability to send ephemeral messages, which will put it on par with Messenger.
This unification comes amid a slowdown in the growth of Facebook’s core platform. We estimate that Facebook’s user base in the US will grow 2.8% this year to 177.1 million, with growth slowing to roughly 1% in 2021 and stalling through 2024.
Younger user growth is slowing as they prefer other platforms: According to Fall 2019 data from Piper Sandler, teens’ favorite platforms are Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok, with Instagram and Snapchat having the highest engagement. As such, creating a smoother user experience on Facebook properties is a useful step in keeping your business relevant to younger users.
Integrating the platform could help Facebook avoid antitrust investigations, which have lawmakers calling for the disintegration of Facebook companies. The combination of Instagram / Messenger could further centralize Facebook’s influence within its user base (although it should be noted that for marketers, advertising services on the company’s platforms are already integrated).
And the fact that Facebook is taking steps to integrate its services now, amid ongoing federal investigations into whether the company stifles competition, makes it harder for the government to pressure it to split its businesses later.
Public sentiment tends to carry some weight when it comes to legislation, and if Facebook users get used to the platform’s integration, breaking them could lead to outrage. Currently, 100 billion messages are sent through the Facebook suite of apps every day, compared to 24 billion sent during the peak of mobile texting in 2015, according to data from Portio Research cited by The Times. .
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