According to a new report from The Verge, Facebook has begun merging Instagram and Messenger – a sign that the company is getting serious about merging its three separate messaging services.
According to Neowin, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg wanted to integrate Messenger, Instagram Direct, and WhatsApp into a single messaging platform earlier last year. The planned consolidation is expected to enable mutual communication between these services via end-to-end encryption.
New report as the first step for this combination. It was discovered on iOS and Android in the US when a user opening the Instagram app on any of these operating systems could see a screen informing him of a new way to text on Instagram.
However, it is still uncertain whether this updated screen will be visible to everyone in the US or only to a limited number of users. There are a number of new features that come with the integration, including new colors for chats, emoji responses, swiping replies, and cross-chat with Facebook users.
When the update is allowed, the user will be taken to a refreshed Instagram screen, where its typical Direct messaging icon is replaced with the Messenger icon. However, at the moment, there doesn’t seem to be a way to send messages to Facebook users from Instagram. This suggests that the US Federal Trade Commission may hamper the consolidation due to antitrust concerns.