Facebook to Combine Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp Into Extensive Messaging Network

Facebook has announced it will soon be integrating Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp to form one conjoined messaging network.

The three apps will still exist as standalone platforms, but users will have the capability to message friends on their preferred service, rather than switching between interfaces.  

The move is part of Facebook’s wider plan to keep users active and engaged, as well as taking advantage of its subsidiaries’ successes as its own popularity dwindles.

Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly ordered end-to-end encryption to be implemented on Messenger and Instagram to prepare for the unification. WhatsApp already supports encryption, making all data private from moderators.

A statement from Facebook said: “We want to build the best messaging experiences we can; and people want messaging to be fast, simple, reliable and private.

“We’re working on making more of our messaging products end-to-end encrypted and considering ways to make it easier to reach friends and family across networks.”

Facebook has been plagued by a number of high-profile data breaches in the past year, so it will hope the increased privacy will win back some of its unhappy user-base.

On several occasions Zuckerberg has been accused of interfering too much in the development of Instagram and WhatsApp.

When the original Instagram founders stepped down in September last year it was rumoured they had fallen out with the Facebook CEO because he was focused more on building revenue than social media’s core values.

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