Facebook and Instagram will have its line further blurred as Instagram Stories find its way to Facebook’s native storyline on top of its main wall.
There is no denying that Facebook is the world’s biggest social media giant. It has the combined powers of Instagram and WhatsApp to back it up. As such, the critical mass of its users is incomparable to anything in the world.
The people over at Facebook don’t stop innovating, and they intend to use their platforms to give its users the best experience. Because of the similarities between the apps, interchanging its features is easy. Facebook has spearheaded this last month with the messenger crossover. Now, it wants to bring Instagram stories to its platform.
Instagram Stories now on Facebook for limited users
Last week, representatives confirmed that Instagram Stories would be viewable on Facebook for some users. They said that it is in an early testing phase. Also, the feature is limited to Instagram users who have linked their accounts to their Facebook accounts. The same applies to the poster and the viewer.
In other words, the Stories uploaded can only be viewed by a poster’s follower if the latter has his Facebook account linked on Instagram. The same representatives commit that the same rules will apply for limitations that the uploaders set on their stories. As such, the Stories that are hidden from certain followers on Instagram will also be hidden on Facebook.
Instagram users can also opt-out of the feature completely should they wish to do so. The crossover is still at an early stage. Therefore, it may or may not see a full rollout eventually.
CONFIRMED… by Facebook Comms rep: pic.twitter.com/MWSEcqp3hv
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) September 4, 2020
Messenger on Instagram
Even before Instagram Stories made its way to Facebook, the latter has already invaded the territory of the former. Last month, Instagram users saw the Messenger icon on the place of the usual paper airplane icon. What this means is that Instagram users can use Messenger to send DMs to other Instagram users.
Unfortunately, Instagram users still can’t cross-message to Facebook users. Nevertheless, it is already being worked on by the people over the giant social media company. They envision a future that messages across Instagram, Facebook, and Whatsapp can be consolidated on just one platform.
However, achieving this is easier said than done. Among the three apps, only WhatsApp provides end-to-end encryption. On the other hand, Messenger and Instagram rely heavily on listening on private chats to push forward advertisements. As such, it might still take a while before the unification happens.
Image from Worawee Meepian/Shutterstock