Facebook looks to reunite with Messenger app after 10 years of separation

Facebook is testing the ability for users to access their Messenger inbox within the Facebook app. This move comes after nearly a decade after its separation when Messenger became a stand-alone function from Facebook. In a statement to CNN, head of Facebook Tom Alison said the test is Facebook's way to compete with social media platform TikTok by "bolstering its position both as a platform to discover new content and discuss it". 

Alison also added that the "discovery engine" strategy is just the start of a bigger shift for Facebook, said in a statement to CNN. 

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Private conversations are a big way that people share and connect on Facebook’s apps and that Facebook wants to deliver the best experience to people using artificial intelligence, Alison said in a statement.

Today, over 140 billion messages are sent across the apps every day. On Instagram, people already reshare Reels nearly 1 billion times daily through DMs and on Facebook we see private sharing of Reels growing strongly as well.

“We are testing the ability for people to access their Messenger inbox within the Facebook app and you’ll see us expand this testing soon,” he said.

He also added that more people turning to messaging as a way to build community. “We started introducing community chats to some Facebook Groups last year as a way for people to connect more deeply with their online communities in real time around the topics they care about. And, the early results are promising. Across Facebook and Messenger, we saw the number of people trying community chats increase by 50% in December 2022,” he said.

“Over the coming year, we’ll build more ways to integrate messaging features in Facebook. Ultimately, we want it to be easy and convenient for people to connect and share, whether in the Messenger app or directly within Facebook,” he added.

MARKETING-INTERATIVE has reached out to Facebook for more information. 

Earlier this month, news once again emerged that Facebook’s parent company Meta is looking to make a new round of cuts, right after its massive layoff of 11,000 staff last November. This comes after emerging reports such as Forbes and Financial Times revolve around speculations of further staff cuts within the company in the upcoming month, as Meta is currently going through performance reviews of employees. Meta did not comment on MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s queries.

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