According to an article in the New York Times that just came out today, Mark Zuckerberg is planning to integrate WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger. That’s right, over the course of 2019 and into 2020, these apps will be reconfigured in a way that would allow users to connect without having to jump in and out of the apps.
Related: 5 Facebook privacy settings you should double check
This means that someone who only has a Facebook account could message someone who only has a WhatsApp account, which in some cases would make things very convenient. But in other ways could make tracking and monitoring for parents very difficult. Many parents, like us, have limited our kids’ social media consumption to specific social media apps, if at all, only having to worry about monitoring what happens on that app. And now, well, it could get very confusing and downright tricky. There’s also the privacy concern; WhatsApp does not store messages and does not keep much user data. Facebook, on the other hand, well, you know what they do.
Related: Does private browsing actually protect your privacy?
There’s not much you can do right now other than sit back and watch the new integrations roll out into your accounts. But you can certainly make a decision about whether you’ll continue using the apps as you are currently, or for some of you, if at all.
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