In the past, it was possible to use Messenger directly in the Facebook app, but in 2014, Meta separated the two apps because they felt that a separate app for messaging was more appropriate. Now, however, the two apps may be combined again. Meta has started testing integrating the Messenger inbox into the Facebook app and will expand the test in the future.
It remains to be seen what will happen to the standalone Messenger app if Meta were to combine the apps again, but the test can be seen as an attempt to compete with apps like TikTok and Instagram, both of which have built-in messaging features.
Another part of delivering the best experience to people using AI is to make it easier for people to share what they discover on Facebook via messaging, when, where and how it suits their needs, without needing to switch to another app. Private conversations are a big way that people share and connect on our apps. Today, over 140 billion messages are sent across our 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.
