Facebook likely to integrate WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger: Reports

Social Media giant Facebook is reportedly working towards integrating its three popular chat services -- WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger –- to enable users send messages to each other across platforms. According to a report published in The New York Times, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to integrate the company’s sprawling divisions was taken to assert his control at a time when the business is hit by scandals.

"Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive, plans to integrate the social network's messaging services -- WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger -- asserting his control over the company's sprawling divisions at a time when its business has been battered by scandal," the report said.

The report further stated that while the timeline for the integration has not yet been finalised, the apps will support the end-to-end encryption. Citing people involved in the integration process, the report said that the underlying technical infrastructure of all the three apps will be unified.

"That will bring together three of the world's largest messaging networks, which between them have more than 2.6 billion users, allowing people to communicate across the platforms for the first time, it added.