Remember a couple of years back Meta had tried to make all its platforms identical with Instagram and Facebook having almost similar features. Meta even introduced cross-messaging between Facebook Messenger and Instagram. You could call or text someone on Messenger through Instagram and vice-versa. But now it seems that Meta is pulling plugs on that feature. Let’s find out more.
The cross-messaging feature was first introduced in 2020. So, after three years now, it is time to say goodbye. Meta support pages were discretely updated and shared that from mid-December Instagram and Facebook’s messaging services will no longer be cross-compatible. So, once Meta disables the feature, as is obvious, you won’t be able to create a new cross-platform chat. However, the older cross-platform chats will go into read-only mode.
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Speaking to the Verge, Meta spokesperson Alex Dziedzan said, “A few years ago, we introduced a new Messenger experience in Instagram DMs which enabled people to message and call a FB account (Messenger) from an Instagram account and vice versa.”
He further shared, “Starting in mid-December, we will begin removing this feature. However, people can continue to message and call their contacts on Facebook, Instagram, or Messenger.”
Now, this move doesn’t come all of a sudden. According to the Verge’s report, Meta is currently not just separating its two platforms Instagram and Facebook but also fighting out the strict and controversial European Union’s DMA laws. The European Commission has decided to regulate Facebook’s Messenger as a “core platform service” under the Digital Markets Act.
Meta is arguing that Messenger is not a standalone app but an extension feature of Facebook itself. According to the DMA rules, Meta will have to make Messenger interoperable with other messaging services. It is still unclear how much Instagram and Messenger’s cross-messaging ability affected Messenger’s position under the DMA. But this might be the reason why Meta took this step.
