Facebook Messenger and Instagram to Lose Cross-App Messaging Capability

According to tech insider and software reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, Meta Platforms—previously known as Facebook, Inc.—is planning to roll back a feature that many users have found useful. First introduced in September 2020.

The cross-messaging support between Facebook Messenger and Instagram is reportedly going to be discontinued starting mid-October. Paluzzi broke the news in a post on what was formerly known as Twitter, stating, “Instagram is considering removing the ability to chat with Facebook friends after mid-October.”

The move to end this integration would mean that users would no longer be able to communicate with their Facebook friends directly through Instagram’s chat feature. While it’s still unclear why Meta Platforms is taking this step, it’s a significant change that could impact how users interact across these social media platforms.

#Instagram is considering removing the ability to chat with #Facebook friends after mid-October 👀 pic.twitter.com/LSkq09lv7s

— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) August 31, 2023

Alongside his post, Alessandro Paluzzi included a screenshot of what seems to be an official message from Instagram. According to the screenshot, not only will the cross-messaging feature be disabled, but existing chat threads between Facebook and Instagram users will turn into ‘read-only’ mode.

Though Meta Platforms, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, hasn’t officially confirmed these changes, there’s speculation that the decision might be driven by regulatory concerns. Combining the messaging services of two giant social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram could potentially run afoul of anti-trust laws, especially in key markets such as the United States.