Facebook seemingly trying to own everything in the entire world is obviously a really bad thing but has anyone stopped to consider the pluses? You can share things directly from Instagram to Facebook and vice versa! You can… uh, gimme a second, I can think of another one, I’m sure.

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Okay, yeah look there’s no real upside to Facebook trying to own every social media app under the sun. There’s a reason they were involved in that kerfuffle with the courts in the United States for anti-competitive practices. Buying Instagram, or anything for that matter, to nullify a threat is legal, sure, but also super shady. Still, one of the upsides is that you can now send messages between Instagram and Facebook. Yay for only the smallest of conveniences!

Announced last night, Facebook has confirmed that the Messenger app will now be able to send and receive messages sent via Instagram, proving that the social media company is actually set on integrating its various properties. Alongside this expansion, Instagram will have it’s entire direct message system overhauled to better streamline the process.

Instagram will now also include vanishing messages, custom emojis, selfie stickers and, most importantly, better ways to block unwanted messages, an issues that is wildly prevalent on Instagram.

Beyond the cross-platform messaging, users will also be able to search for profiles across the two apps, and if you’re not stoked on these changes you can reject the update but, rest assured, you’ll probably need to update in the near future, given Facebook’s track record.

We don’t know when the update is reaching everyone as Facebook has confirmed that it’s only being rolled out to, “select markets and will expand globally in the coming months.” So who knows when it will eventually hit South Africa? Guess you’ll just have to deal with having to different apps open to send messages. Oh, how hard life is.

(Source: The Verge)