Facebook and Instagram are finally integrated, sort of

Facebook bought Instagram way back in 2012, but you almost wouldn't know it from how separate they are. Outside of Instagram's options to log in with and post to Facebook, you almost wouldn't know the two entities are connected. However, that's changing in a big way... for the corporate crowd, at least. Facebook is launching a unified Pages Manager inbox that lets businesses see and reply to their Facebook, Messenger and Instagram interactions in one place. If you complain about a faulty product in an Instagram comment, you're just as likely to be answered as if you'd sent a scathing Facebook message.

Social media managers can also get a better sense of your history. They'll see your publicly available Facebook or Instagram profile, and will know whether or not you've spoken before. They can even apply labels, so they'll know if your concerns are particularly urgent or if you're a regular.

Everyone using Pages Manager should see the new inbox available within weeks, and it'll spread to other devices as well. The question is: will regular users see anything like this? Why can't we check our Instagram interactions in Facebook, for example? Still, this is a good sign -- it shows that Facebook is aware of at least some situations where its social networks need tighter integration.