Facebook has been planning for some time to merge WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger conversations into one app, but now the company has taken the first steps to do so. This Friday night, Instagram was updated to offer an option that combines its chat feature with Facebook Messenger.
Instagram users are now being notified to share their accounts with Facebook Messenger, which brings conversations and features from Messenger to Instagram. “There’s a new way to post on Instagram,” says the message that shows the icons of the two Facebook apps.
In addition to combining the conversations of both services, the update also adds some of the options previously available on Facebook Messenger, including color chats, comments with each emoji, and swipe to reply to individual messages.
Instagram says merging with Facebook Messenger is optional for now and users may refuse it. However, as indicated The edge, Instagram does not yet offer Messenger conversations, even if you accept the update for your account – which is likely to be enabled in the coming days.
If all goes well, the next step is to combine the two services with WhatsApp. Last year, a report revealed that WhatsApp employees are worried about this integration, as the popular messaging app has strong encryption that can be affected by combining it with other apps.
What do you think of that decision? Would you rather have all Facebook apps work as one service than stay separate? Let us know in the comments below.
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