Instagram and Facebook cross-messaging is to end, according to Meta
Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has quietly announced the end of cross-messaging between the two platforms. Starting in mid-December, Instagram users will no longer be able to initiate new conversations with Facebook contacts, and existing Instagram chats with Facebook friends will become read-only.
Instagram users will no longer be able to message their Facebook contacts through Instagram, according to a silent update made by Meta to its support pages.
According to 9to5Google, the company stated that the feature will end in the middle of December, but they did not provide a specific date.
The support page states that your existing Instagram chats will become read-only, but you won’t be able to initiate new cross-platform conversations.
Cross-platform messaging was first made available by the social media behemoth in 2020. And now, three years later, the company is quietly discontinuing the feature, despite having added features like group chat along the way.
The cross-platform messaging feature was discontinued by Meta, though they did not give a clear explanation. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) of the European Union mandates that big messaging apps work with one another.
WABetaInfo revealed in September that WhatsApp, owned by Meta, had begun developing an interoperability feature after spotting a screen for “third-party chats.”
The massive social media platform stated in August that by the end of the year, it wants all Messenger users to have end-to-end encryption enabled by default. When the Messenger rollout is finished, Instagram direct messages will likewise receive end-to-end encryption protection, according to Meta’s deputy privacy officer Rob Sherman at the time. If the discontinuation of cross-platform messaging was connected to this development, the company did not immediately comment.
In addition, Meta consented to restructure its account center in order to provide users more authority over cross-site activities, as instructed by the German antitrust agency in June.
