Facebook and Instagram Have Enabled Cross-App Messaging

If you struggle to manage messaging on just one of Facebook’s three properties (Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp), perhaps this new update will provide relief. It was previously announced that Facebook wanted to experiment with some cross-app features, such as sharing Instagram Reels on Facebook. So far, cross-messaging is one feature to be officially greenlit.

With this option, you’ll now be able to message, video chat, and share posts across both Instagram DMs and Facebook Messenger. According to the Facebook Help Center:

“Instagram accounts can also send messages and you’ll receive those cross-app messages in your Messenger and Facebook Chats lists. When someone on Instagram wants to start a chat with you, they can search for you based on your public profile information, which you can review or change on your Facebook profile.”

By adding your Instagram account to your Facebook Messenger Accounts Center, you can also customize your message delivery options, including who can send you message requests.

“If an Instagram account sends you a message request, you can block, delete or reply to it, and they won’t know you’ve seen the request unless you reply. If you accept their message request by replying, they’ll be able to send direct messages to you, see information like your Active Status and see when you’ve seen their messages.”

Keep in mind that you’ll only be able to see messages via the platform they were sent to. For example, if an Instagram user sends a message to your Facebook account, you’ll see it on Facebook but not Instagram (and vice versa).

So why should creators care? Social scheduling can either make or break your productivity and taking advantage of cross-app messaging could save you time and a headache or two when used strategically. Get familiar with this feature if you haven’t already.

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