The New York Times is reporting that Facebook plans to combine messaging services across its applications, merging chats from WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger. A WhatsApp user would be able to start a chat with an Instagram user, breaking down barriers between Facebook’s social platforms.
A Messenger user would be able to send an end-to-end encrypted conversation with someone who only has a WhatsApp account for instance. Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp will remain separate apps on the home screen but the common messaging features will be unified. more…