Communication Shift: Instagram-Messenger Cross-App Chats Set to Transition to Read-Only Mode
Meta is set to terminate its cross-platform messaging feature, which allowed users to send messages from their Instagram accounts to Facebook accounts and vice versa. This move marks a reversal three years after the company initially introduced the capability to chat seamlessly across services. Users will now be constrained to messaging individuals exclusively within the platform they are currently using. While Meta has not explicitly cited a reason for this decision, the announcement aligns with the anticipated timeline for implementing default end-to-end encryption (E2EE) on Messenger, expected to be completed by the year’s end.
According to information found on a recently added Instagram support page, shared by 9to5Google, the photo and video-sharing platform notifies users that cross-app communication chats will cease to function by mid-December. Meta clarifies that ongoing conversations between users on either platform will transition into a read-only mode once the functionality is disabled. This alteration enables participants to revisit their chat history, offering a compromise in the absence of the cross-app communication feature.
After Meta shuts off the ability to chat across platforms, it won’t be possible for you to start new chats with Facebook Messenger users from your Instagram account — and vice versa. If you were already chatting with someone across platforms, your chat will not automatically be migrated to the other platform.
Similarly, Facebook users who could previously see when you were online — via the Activity Status setting — or when you saw their messages, will no longer have access to these features. In order to continue chatting with friends across the two platforms, you will have to start a new chat with them on the same app.
While Meta hasn’t revealed a reason for discontinuing cross-app communication chats support on Instagram and Facebook Messenger that was introduced in 2020, it is worth noting that the company’s announcement comes at a time when it is expected to introduce an important change on Messenger — E2EE chats that are protected by default.
In August, Meta revealed that it was “on track to launch default E2EE for one-to-one friends and family chats on Messenger by the end of the year.” The company is expected to roll out support for encrypted chats that cannot be seen by anyone except the sender and recipient — not even the company — except when chats are reported by participants. The company already supports end-to-end encrypted chats on WhatsApp.