More than 2 billion people use at least one of Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp each day on average. From these, the parent company estimates that 2.6 billion people in total now use the three apps per month.
But with the business growing and becoming more profitable, it has been getting harder for Facebook to track users’ activities across its subsidiary apps to conduct business more effectively. Did they seek a solution? Yes, a merger.
The company is planning to integrate its messaging platforms, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger. The company wants to keep the three services as separate apps, but with the infrastructure running them the same, with the possibility for users to send messages from one app to another.
Additionally, the apps will see end-to-end encryption added, in a bid to shield messages from being read by people outside of the conversation, as it is with WhatsApp.
The acquisitions
As you might be aware, Facebook acquired WhatsApp and Instagram in what seemed like an expansion move which has turned out to be very beneficial to the company despite the apps remaining independent entities. Even when the brand was choking on scandals here and there, the other two stepped in the way.
WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook in 2014, while Instagram was acquired in 2012. The former’s CEO and co-founder Jan Koum left in May 2018 after disagreeing with Facebook over its approach to personal data and encryption.
In October 2018, Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger left Facebook after reportedly clashing with CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the future of the photo sharing app.
What merging the apps could mean
Once the three apps can inter-communicate, data will be shared between the apps much easily. This will as well make it easier for Facebook to track users’ activities across the platform. This also offers wider avenues for making money from Instagram and WhatsApp.
On the consumer side, the plan precisely will be successful on the basis of how users’ data will be shared between the services. Those who want to keep silent about their identity are likely to quit one of the platforms, or expose themselves.
For instance, WhatsApp currently requires your phone number when new users sign up. On the other hand, Facebook and its Messenger app require you to provide an identity to attach to your profile. So, would you allow Facebook and Instagram to use your WhatsApp identity at any one time?
Facebook says the apps are going to be completely redesigned for the combination to take effect, and this is supposed to be completed by the end of 2019 or in early 2020.
