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Facebook is testing adding audio and video calling to the main social networking app, according to a Bloomberg report.
The features are currently part of the standalone Messenger app, which the social network separated from its main app in 2011 and was officially phased out in 2014.
Conor Hayes, director of product management for Messenger, said the new feature was just a test. But it aims to reduce the need to switch between the main application of the social network and its Messenger service, according to the “Arab Gateway for Technical News”.
Voice and video calls are among the many Messenger features that the platform has introduced in its other products such as Portal video cameras and Oculus virtual reality glasses.
The company has not indicated whether it plans to bring other parts of Messenger back into its main application. But the director of product management for Messenger said that you are starting to see this more and more over time.
Instagram and Messenger
The company has confirmed that it is testing audio and video calling in several countries, including the United States. But he hasn’t shared how many users see the features or what it means for the standalone Messenger app going forward.
It also didn’t explain why people could still use the standalone Messenger app if it offered the full messaging, voice and video calling experience through its main app.
Adding audio and video calls to the main platform app makes just as much sense as disconnecting Messenger in the first place. This means there’s no need to switch between apps while you’re doing other things on your computer or phone. But it also means that you have to interact with the platform while doing it.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg argued that integrating the company’s messaging services would benefit users. This allows them to reach more people and reduces the need to download or switch between separate apps.
There is also a risk that the inclusion of Messenger in the main application of the platform will lead to the same types of criticism as the standardization of Messenger and Instagram direct messages. And that seems to make it harder for a giant company like Facebook to disintegrate. Maybe that’s the point.
Critics argue that the company is tying its services in a way that could make it impossible to break them. Federal regulators filed an antitrust complaint last week in an attempt to force the company to separate its acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram.
It is reported that this is not the first suggestion that the company is considering bringing Messenger back to its main application. In 2019, the company tested the return of text chats to the main app through a dedicated inbox.
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