Meta has announced the discontinuation of cross-app communication between Facebook and Instagram, starting mid-December. Accordeing to a recent support page update on Meta-owned Instagram, users will no longer have the capability to initiate new conversations or calls with Facebook accounts directly from Instagram. For ongoing conversations with Facebook accounts, users are advised to commence a new chat on Messenger or Facebook, via their Facebook account. The feature was rolled out in September 2020.
After the cessation of cross-app communication, existing chats on Instagram involving a Facebook account will transition to a read-only state, regardless of whether these Facebook accounts are excluded from the conversation. Therefore, users with Instagram accounts won't be able to send new messages in these chats. This also means that Facebook accounts will not be be able to see your message read status as well as Activity Status.
Even as the social networking giant has not provided an official explanation for the change, reports indicate that it might be influenced by European Union's (EU) new Digital Markets Act (DMA). This legislation mandates big companies to enable interoperability among messaging platforms. The shift could mean Meta's emphasis on achieving broader interoperability in Messenger to comply with DMA regulations.
The DMA is also the reason why Meta-owned Instagram Threads did not launch in the region during global roll out. The popular app, which is touted to be a Twitter rival, has been held up by what Meta spokesperson Christine Pai described as “upcoming regulatory uncertainty”. However, Meta is said to launch Instagram Threads in the EU this month, says a report by The Wall Street Journal.
Earlier in September, Meta made a significant move in the EU where it offers paid subscriptions to Instagram and Facebook users, in the wake of the region's comprehensive digital regulation strategy. The paid versions of Facebook and Instagram come with no ads for users in the EU, The New York Times reported, citing three people with knowledge of the development. Those opting for the premium membership plans will have a seamless experience and will get to choose to stay out of the company's ad-based services that rely on ad-based revenue models tied to user engagement.
The social networking giant will also continue to offer free versions of Facebook and Instagram, but they will come with ads in the EU.