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Facebook has announced that it plans to combine WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger messaging services in order to link messages between the different services.
This will allow users to communicate with anyone who is using one of the three services.
According to a report, this integration is a personal project of Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Everyone’s immediate fear upon hearing about the integration as the concern that Facebook might roll all three services into one – that’s not happening.
Instead, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger will remain as stand-alone apps.
While all of the three services will remain as individual apps, the difference is the linking of messages, which will allow them to travel between all three services. In essence, all three services will share a common core. Think of it like a central hub that connects and shares data between all three.
Not only is it going to add convenience, but also some features that are impossible currently.
The first thing this modification is going to bring is convenience. Users will no longer have to individually login to each specific app to message on each app separately. They’ll be able to have end-to-end messages within all three services.
In addition, whether you actually have accounts on all three services or not – as long as you have one of the three accounts – you can communicate with someone on any of the three accounts.
For example, if you only have a Facebook account, you can communicate with someone who has a WhatsApp or an Instagram account – even if you don’t.
With all the breaches and security debacles Facebook has experienced as late, security is first and foremost on the minds of users. Actually, security is also on the minds of employees of both WhatsApp and Instagram.
Reportedly, employees at both WhatsApp and Instagram are concerned with how security could be affected by Zuckerberg’s plan to centralize a core between these apps.
Indeed, strong privacy and encryption is a key component of WhatsApp. And apparently, several employees have already left because of the plan to merge the apps to a central core.
If one recalls, Instagram’s cofounders departed last year after Facebook had tried to exert more control over the Instagram product.
According to a spokesperson for Facebook, it’s going to be a “long process.” However, it is expected to be completed by the end of 2019 or early 2020.
