Some Facebook Messenger features could be soon available on the main Facebook app. According to a Bloomberg report, the company is looking to bring voice and video calls to its main social app. It has already started testing these features among users in several countries including the US.
“You’re going to start to see quite a bit more of this over time,” said Connor Hayes, director of product management at Messenger. So you can expect the company to expand this testing to more users soon. If you’re a Facebook user, be on the lookout for voice and video calling abilities in the coming weeks. Both features will also remain part of the Messenger app, of course.
Facebook is testing voice and video calling in the main app
Facebook initially had messaging services integrated into its main social networking app. But in August 2011, just months after it acquired group messaging startup Beluga, the company launched a standalone messaging app called Messenger. In April 2014, Facebook announced that it is removing messaging services from the main app, forcing users to download Messenger if they wanted to continue their Facebook conversations. Since then, Messenger has grown into a powerful messaging tool, adding tons of new features over time.
Meanwhile, the company has also been working to improve the interoperability of its various communication and social network services, which also include WhatsApp. It recently merged Messenger with Instagram DMs (direct messages). Messenger’s voice and video calling feature also made it into other Facebook products such as Oculus VR (virtual reality) headsets and Portal devices.
In line with these efforts, Facebook is now bringing two major Messenger features to its main app. This change will be particularly appreciated by Facebook users who also frequently use Messenger for calling purposes. They will now have one less app to jump back and forth between. Of course, they will still need to have the Messenger app installed if they want a full-featured messaging experience.
But those who only use the Facebook app for browsing their social media feed or watching Reels may not like some unwanted features clogging their screen. However, there’s nothing much they can do. Facebook is seemingly all prepared to roll out voice and video calling in the main app soon.
Signs of this integration have been coming for a few years now. Back in April 2019, Facebook was spotted testing Messenger’s chats feature. The company aims to unify its products and services and intertwine them such that it’s impossible to separate them. Regulators are already trying to break Facebook up and spin-off Instagram and WhatsApp. Time will tell whether the company manages to hold strong against these efforts, which it claims are “meritless.”