Continuing to focus on direct user interactions, Facebook reportedly plans to unveil a redesigned Messenger interface sometime next week.
The upcoming changes were first uncovered by Jeff
Higgins, social-media director at AMI Social Media, after which point TechCrunchconfirmed the story
with Facebook.
Reached for comment, a Facebook spokesperson said the company had no additional information to share about Messenger’s forthcoming changes.
According to the images
obtained by Higgins, the new Messenger interface will be greatly simplified. For example, the Discover tab appears to have been removed.
The changes have been in the works for a few years.
Back in early 2018, then-Messenger head David Marcus said: “Expect to see us invest in massively simplifying and streamlining Messenger.”
Last summer, Messenger began rolling out new tools and
updates for businesses and developers.
With an eye on simplicity, Facebook tried to make it easier for businesses using Messenger to report and track conversions that took place on the popular
messaging platform.
More broadly, Facebook has made no secret of its plans to more closely connect Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram.
Threatening these plans, the Federal
Trade Commission has reportedly considering antitrust action against Facebook to block these planned integrations.
Along with privacy concerns, regulators are apparently afraid that a more interconnected
Facebook will make an eventual breakup of the company nearly impossible.
Of course, regulators have also expressed concern about how Facebook’s planned changes will stifle competition,
while strengthening what many consider to be its monopolistic position.
As of December 31, Facebook’s “family” monthly active users -- including WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger
and its flagship platform -- totaled 2.89 billion worldwide.