This collaboration will quickly allow you to access your WhatsApp and Instagram messages from Facebook Messenger, and possibly vice-versa.
Facebook has long been rumored to be planning to cross-chat Messenger to other messaging applications. The alliance will allow users to quickly access their WhatsApp and Instagram messages from Messenger and vice-versa.
For the record, Facebook has already made headway in this direction by adding Rooms shortcuts on WhatsApp and Instagram. Now, a recent report gives us a closer look at the bigger picture of what they are cooking for Messenger.
Evidence of Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp cross-chat support
As reported by GSMArena, this cross-chat support could be a precursor to the long process that the two applications will integrate into their platform.
Reverse engineer @Alex193a has discovered evidence of this report in the latest version of Facebook Messenger. The image below shows the mentions of “whats_app” references.
Aside from being WhatsApp references, rumors also claimed that the list is what Facebook needs to manage messages and services. There are also mentions of other elements that would allow Messenger to understand which WhatsApp users are blocked, push notifications from WhatsApp, and the details of a chat recipient.
Not long ago, CEO Mark Zuckerberg had hinted regarding Facebook’s plans to integrate WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger. He even mentioned that “we want to build the best messaging experience we can; and people want messaging to be fast, simple, reliable and private.”
Benefits of cross-chat support to users
The main difference between the two messaging platforms is that WhatsApp stores chat information on-device in addition to end-to-end encryption. Meaning, WhatsApp is only allowed to be used on a single device.
Unlike WhatsApp, Facebook allows a user to log in to different gadgets simultaneously. So if you are using multiple phones, you can still check who chatted with you on both mobiles without being logged out to the other one.
A new code embedded inside Facebook Messenger suggests it is preparing to accept messages from users of the WhatsApp application.
What it means is that it would enable those two messaging platforms to talk to one another. Those on WhatsApp can reach those on Messenger and vice-versa. Video conferencing is also allowed on both platforms.
Sounds good, right? This new upgrade is very convenient and advisable, especially for people who are always using both social networks. Well, the feature seems to be in the developing stages, so we will not be able to use it just yet.
Image used courtesy of Android Police/YouTube Screenshot