Facebook might be putting Messenger back into its main social media app. The feature is currently in testing and was spotted by app researcher Jane Manchun Wong, and would mean that you could use a single app to access both the social media platform and the messaging service.
The change uses the existing Messenger button in the Facebook app, but takes you straight to your messages instead of opening the separate Messenger app.
Messenger was first released as a standalone app back in 2011, and in 2014 Facebook removed its functionality from its eponymous app. Half a decade later, as Facebook prepares to integrate its messaging services across Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, the functionality appears to be returning.
As part of its messaging integration plans Facebook reportedly intends for each service’s individual app to continue to exist. Wong speculates that the same is true of the Messenger app, which she believes will be kept around to serve a different audience than the main Facebook app.
Wong’s screenshots of the functionality show Facebook’s proposed white redesign for the app, which was first spotted at the beginning of March. The interface closely mirrors Facebook Messenger’s white redesign, which was made widely available at the beginning of this year. It’s unclear when the new Messaging integration or interface might become available.
Samson Oyedeyi
