Facebook has decided to add the functionality of the calls and video calls in its main app, after moving the two functions to Messenger in 2014. The company is said to be testing the novelty with some users. The purpose? That of reduce the number of times Facebook users have to switch to the Messenger app.
Facebook takes a step back: calls and video calls are back in the main app
Messenger and Facebook were one app, but in 2014 they were split into two separate apps and the Messenger functionality was removed from Facebook. Customers were then forced to download the Messenger app to send private messages to other users or to make phone calls using the social network.
However, users in some countries, such as the United States, are now able to make voice or video calls directly from the Facebook app. Facebook would be in the testing phase, to understand if the novelty will be appreciated or not.
The company also tested adding a limited version of the Messenger inbox to the main Facebook app. This would further increase what can be done without having to switch to Messenger.
Connor Hayes, Messenger’s director of product management, said Facebook is starting to see Messenger as a service rather than a standalone app. He told Bloomberg that Messenger is the “connective tissue” that people can communicate with regardless of the service they are using. Facebook believes that a unified messaging infrastructure will keep its users engaged in the Facebook ecosystem rather than using alternative services like iMessage.
Facebook has combined messaging between Instagram and Messenger last year, a feature that the company plans to bring up as well WhatsApp. Deep integrations could make it more difficult to split the Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp apps should Facebook lose the antitrust lawsuit it is facing. The US FTC accused Facebook of monopoly on social networks and asked the company to sell Instagram and WhatsApp to strengthen competition.