With Facebook announcing plans to merge its Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram messaging services, we take a closer look at the giant’s stronghold on the ways in which we communicate, and explore whether the new changes will bring us closer together, or give Facebook access to more data to sell advertising and increase its dominance in the market.
ALL CHANGE AT FACEBOOK
Whether you’re an avid Facebooker or you steer clear from the platform, the chances are that you use at least one of the tech giant’s products. Zuckerberg has his fingers in many pies, including WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, and may just be the most powerful tech CEO in the world. Of course, companies like Alphabet, Amazon, and Apple have been able to secure higher returns and, albeit briefly, become trillion-dollar brands, but where Facebook is different is in its data. Facebook attracts an eye-watering 2.27 billion users to its platform per month, messaging service WhatsApp has more than 1.5 billion users, and the celebrityobsessed social network Instagram has more than 1 billion monthly users, growing more than 200 million users from September 2018 to December 2018 - demonstrating the power of the brand.
At a time when Zuckerberg’s core product is facing unprecedented scrutiny following a series of data leaks and dishonest advertising practices, the company has decided to take more control over the networking divisions and create a unified messaging experience for users.
According to a report in The New York Times, the services will continue as standalone apps, but the technical infrastructure will be unified, connecting more than 2.6 billion users and enabling cross-platform communication for the first time. Many believe that the move will redefine the way billions of us communicate with friends and family, as we will no longer be locked into one platform when chatting with our loved ones. Others argue that the plan does nothing more than increase the firm’s grip on its users, citing privacy and security concerns, and raising antitrust as a reason against the potential messaging merger.
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