Zuckerberg to Combine WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Services

By Ahmed Yasser

CAIRO, Jan. 26 (SEE)- Facebook founder ''Mark Zuckerberg'', plans to bring the back ends of Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram closer together with that of his own social network.

This consolidation may come with benefits for the billions of users involved, such as; making it easier for anyone to send messages across the apps. But it's also the biggest sign yet that ''Zuckerberg'' is tightening his grip on services he once promised complete autonomy and it comes on the heels of the Instagram and the WhatsApp founders exiting Facebook.

Then, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram will run on the same infrastructure. Besides requiring years of engineering work, that could have unforeseen implications for the more than 2.5 billion people who use these services. It also raises questions of security and regulation.

The move also puts the departures of Instagram's ''Kevin Systrom'' and WhatsApp's ''Jan Koum'' into fresh light. Because this is the kind of thing ''Zuckerberg'' once pledged to them and their users that he had no intention of doing.

WhatsApp and Instagram are still both technically independent services. Each has its own standalone app, and you can still use both without a Facebook account. Four people involved in the effort announced that will bring together three of the world’s largest messaging networks, which between them have more than 2.6 billion users, allowing people to communicate across the platforms for the first time.