I vividly remember when Meta merged the Instagram and Facebook chats in September of 2020 and how much I despised it.
All of a sudden comments and messages from my Instagram showed up in my Facebook chat. I found it super annoying and overwhelming – the cross-app communication made me feel like Sybil every time I opened the platform.
Meta’s psychic direct message to me was loud and clear:
YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM ANYONE!
Three years later, the company has given me mercy and reversed course.
Yippee Kay Yay!
Perhaps I’m the only one who hated the merged DMs, so if you loved the feature my condolences…
But whether you liked or not, cross app communication chats are going bye bye.
Originally the Direct Message merging was all part of a grand Doctor Evil Plan that would include WhatsApp as well. As Fortune more tactfully put it, Meta wanted to “further lock people into the company’s ecosphere.” Operative word is “lock” … and throw away the key so you could not escape being sucked into the Zuckerberg vortex never to come up for air again.
Okay that’s dramatic, but I’m really glad this feature is on its way to a quick death.
Meta didn’t get rid of it to be nice, however, they did it because they were feeling the heat.
“The change in status for the two messenger apps comes as Meta is facing threats by the European Commission to regulate the Messenger service as a ‘core platform service’ under its Digital Markets Act. That would force Meta to make Messenger nonoperable with other messaging services,” stated Fortune. “Facebook is fighting that, saying Messenger is a core part of the Facebook app and not a standalone feature (despite the fact that the Messenger app is separate from Facebook).”
So, it appears we’re not out of the woods yet, as they’re “fighting” it but let’s live in the moment.
The change will go into effect any day, and this is what you can expect as stated in the official Instagram blog:
- Any existing chats on Instagram that you’ve had with Facebook accounts will become read-only, even if these Facebook accounts are removed from the chat. This means that you and others with Instagram accounts can’t send new messages in these chats.
- Facebook accounts won’t be able to view your Activity Status or whether you’ve seen a message.
- Any existing chats you’ve had with Facebook accounts won’t move to your inbox on Facebook or Messenger.
Photo credit: iStock.com/hapabapa
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Alyssa Collins hails from Minnesota, where snowy days were the perfect excuse to stay warm inside and write. Over the years, she turned that joy into a career and has authored numerous articles for various publications (under pen names). Email Alyssa via alyssa@ynot.com.
