Remember when Facebook bought WhatsApp and swore up and down that it would remain separate from its other ventures?
Taking billion-dollar corporations at their word is always a lost cause but we’ll give Zuckerberg some credit for at least waiting more than a decade before pressing the red button.
Meta has announced that WhatsApp users will soon be able to add their accounts to the Meta Accounts Center.
Meta jumps WhatsApp into the gang
The Accounts Center portal allows users to manage and use their Facebook, Instagram, and Meta Quest on a single account. It works through the “Single Sign On” feature, which also allows users to do things like log into their Facebook account with their Instagram account. We can now add WhatsApp to that list.
The messenger’s integration means that users can post their Statuses as Stories on Instagram and Facebook, negating the need to post multiple times across different platforms. Adding the new account is optional and is off by default.
Meta maintains that communications on the app will remain end-to-end encrypted even once connected to the Accounts Center, which was first introduced in 2020 to make managing connected accounts across Meta’s services easier. Meta also plans on adding more functionality to the hub such as avatars, AI stickers, and Imagine Me creations.
The social media titan says it is rolling out the mobile communication app’s integration worldwide, but the process will take months to reach every user. Once integration is available, the option will appear in users’ WhatsApp settings, or when trying to do something like repost your WhatsApp status to one of Meta’s other apps.
