Meta’s Split: How the breakup between Instagram and Facebook Messenger is changing social media forever!

Meta to end cross-platform integration of Facebook Messenger and Instagram

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced that it will be removing the cross-platform integration between Facebook Messenger and Instagram. This means that users will no longer be able to chat with their Facebook friends on Instagram, and the functionality will be discontinued in mid-December.

Once the integration is removed, users will no longer be able to start new calls or chats with Facebook friends from Instagram. Existing conversations with Facebook accounts on Instagram will become read-only, and Facebook accounts will no longer be able to see activity status or read receipts. Additionally, existing chats will not move to the inbox on either platform.

The cross-platform integration was first announced in 2019 and went live a year later through Meta’s account center on Instagram. However, the company has not provided a clear reason for the removal of this feature.

Speculation suggests that this decision could be related to regulatory concerns, particularly the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which aims to prevent companies from holding monopoly power by favoring their own services. The act also includes requirements for large companies to ensure compatibility between messaging platforms.

It is believed that Meta may be dismantling this specific cross-app chatting feature to pave the way towards wider interoperability between its platforms that complies with EU regulations.

As the company prepares to discontinue this functionality, users are advised to make alternative arrangements for communication between their Facebook and Instagram accounts. The change is expected to take effect in mid-December, so users have a limited time to adjust to the upcoming discontinuation of this feature.