In 2019, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed plans to unify the three messaging services - namely WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger - owned by the social media giant. Now the company has finally merged Facebook Messenger with Instagram Direct Chats.
Several Instagram users in the US are getting a new update pop-up on the app that says, "There is a new way to send messages on Instagram." It includes a list of features including a "colorful new look for your cats", new emoji reactions, and a swipe-to-reply feature. There is also a feature that allows users to "chat with friends who use Facebook".
Instagram users will soon see a new " Update " button at the bottom to use the new functionality. In the latest version, Instagram's DM icon will be replaced with Messenger logo and the chat UI will be updated. Those who have already received the feature say that it is not yet functional because it does not allow Instagram users to send messages to people on Facebook from the app.
At this time, we don't know when Facebook will allow Instagram users to text people on Facebook. But hopefully the company will activate it soon via a server side update.
Last year, when Zuckerberg announced plans to merge all messaging apps, he also revealed plans for end-to-end encryption across all apps. However, Facebook has yet to reveal any information about it.
