The US-based social media giant Facebook is opening up new ways for businesses to communicate with customers on Instagram and WhatsApp, as per the company’s statement at its virtual developers’ conference F8 Refresh.
Facebook stated that it was rolling out tools to help developers build ways for businesses to message customers on Facebook-owned Instagram. According to the social media giant, 90 percent of Instagram users follow at least one business.
The messaging app of Facebook, Whatsapp, would support more types of messages, like letting businesses send alerts when an item is back in stock. It is also testing a separate way for people to opt into messaging with businesses through a ‘Login Connect’ feature.
Mark Zuckerberg, the Chief Executive of Facebook stated that the company is focusing on expanding its features to support eCommerce, building augmented and virtual reality, and supporting content creators to make money through the platforms.
In recent months, WhatsApp had faced a major backlash after updating its privacy policy while expanding its business messaging tools, which confused many users who were concerned that it meant their private data would be shared with Facebook.
At the ‘F8 Refresh’ conference, which was held online after being canceled last year due to the COVID-19, Facebook also revealed its plans to launch new tools to enable researchers to analyze its data across public pages, groups and events.
The social media giant, which has been struggling with data privacy and transparency concerns in the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, said this new tool would be available later this year.
