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| Facebook wants to add contacts in its main app |
According to Bloomberg News, Facebook is testing adding audio and video calling features to major social media apps.
These features are currently part of the standalone Messenger app, which was separated from its main app in 2011 and officially discontinued in 2014.
Conor Hayes, Messenger's director of product management, said the new feature was just a test run. But it aims to reduce the need to navigate between the main social media apps and their messaging service.
Voice and video calls are one of the many messaging features that the platform has introduced in its other products such as portal cameras and Oculus virtual reality glasses.
The company hasn't announced if it plans to bring back other parts of Messenger to its main app. But Messenger's Director of Product Management said you'll see more of this in due course.
The company confirmed that it is testing audio and video calls in several countries, including the United States. However, he did not reveal how many users have seen these features or what they mean for future standalone messaging apps.
It also doesn't explain why people continue to use the standalone messaging app when it offers a full messaging, voice, and video experience through their main app.
Facebook wants to add contacts in its main app
Adding voice and video calls to the main platform app is just as important as disconnecting Messenger first. This means that you don't have to switch between apps while doing other things on your computer or phone. But it also means that you have to interact with the platform in the process.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes that integrating the company's messaging services will benefit users. This way, they reach more people and reduce the need to download or switch between different apps.
There is also the risk that the inclusion of the messenger in the main application of the platform will lead to the same points of criticism as the unification of direct messages from Messenger and Instagram. This seems to make it difficult for giants like Facebook to collapse. Maybe that's the point.
Critics believe the company is bundling its services and may not be able to separate them. Federal regulators filed an antitrust complaint last week to force the company to separate its WhatsApp and Instagram acquisitions.
This is reportedly not the company's first suggestion to consider bringing Messenger back to its core app. In 2019, the company tested the return of text chat to the main app via a dedicated mailbox.