Facebook will let users chat across Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp
Interoperability is coming.
There were rumors that Facebook was going to make its messaging products interoperable, but now it appears they're about to be a reality. At F8, Messenger's head of consumer product Asha Sharma said that in the future, users will soon be able to send messages across Facebook's three different messaging platforms: Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp.
This interoperability is just one of many features of the new Messenger. All messages will also be end-to-end encrypted, which is part of Facebook's recent privacy-focused mantra. Sharma said that the inter-app messaging will work similar to how people make calls on phones today. You don't need to know if your friend is on Verizon or T-Mobile, you can just call them. It'll be the same on any of Facebook's messaging services -- just say you'll want to talk to your friend, and that message will get to him or her on whatever service they use.
"We believe people should be able to talk to anyone anywhere," she said.
It's unclear just yet when this will roll out to users. Zuckerberg said it could take quite some time, which might mean next year or later.
Update 7:02pm ET: Changed expectation of roll out date.
