Early last year, Facebook promised that it would create a unified backend for all of its messaging platforms. Messenger, Instagram direct messages, and WhatsApp are all supposed to be interoperable, so you wouldn’t have to worry about which Facebook app to use with which of your contacts. It looks like the company is getting ready to make these cross-platform chats a reality, as it has started distributing a popup on Instagram that advertises a Messenger integration.
Several Instagram users in the US are receiving a new update pop-up on the app that says, “There’s a New Way to Message on Instagram.” It includes a list of features, including a “new colourful look for your chats,” new emoji reactions, and a swipe-to-reply feature. There is also a feature that lets users to “Chat with friends who use Facebook.” When you hit the update button, you’re greeted by the new interface and a reworked symbol for direct messages — a black and white variant of the Facebook Messenger icon.
Instagram users will soon get to see a new ‘Update’ button at the bottom to use the new feature. In the latest version, Instagram’s DM icon will get replaced with the Messenger logo, and the chat UI will be refreshed. Those who have already received the feature say that it isn’t functional yet as it doesn’t allow Instagram users to message people on Facebook from within the app.
Last year when Zuckerberg announced plans to merge all the messaging apps, he also revealed plans for end-to-end encryption on all the apps. However, Facebook hasn’t revealed any information regarding that yet.
