Facebook owns some of the world’s most popular smartphone apps – from its own social network of the same name, Instagram and WhatsApp. After announcing plans to bring messaging services together on a single platform, we now have an indication of what Facebook plans next to take advantage of its extensive portfolio.
According to the serial tipster Alessandro Paluzzi, Facebook will soon enable Instagram users to check their identities with WhatsApp.
For those who didn’t know, two-factor authentication is an extra layer of security to keep your online accounts and data under lock and key. This extra protection means that a cyber criminal with your email address and password will not be able to access your account. This is because they also need to verify their identity using an additional method, including a uniquely generated six-digit code that is sent via text message or verified using an authentication app.
Two-factor authentication is completely optional, but it is highly recommended. Those who rely solely on an email address and password – especially if that email-password combination has been used to protect other online accounts in the past – should really consider the extra protection.
As Paluzzi found out, Instagram could soon allow people to rely on WhatsApp as a two-factor authentication method. Instead of sending a random code through a text message, the code is sent to WhatsApp instead.
Thanks to WhatsApp Web, you can successfully log in on a laptop or desktop PC even when you don’t have your phone in your pocket.
The feature, which is still under development by the Instagram team, will be available for iOS and Android. As always, it’s worth taking this report with a pinch of salt until the feature is released. After all, Instagram is constantly testing new functions – but not all of them make it into the final version of the Android and iOS app.
However, given that WhatsApp is the world’s most popular messaging app, it makes a lot of sense to tie these apps closer together, especially given the fact that WhatsApp and Instagram are owned by the same parent company.
The news comes as WhatsApp traced the threats to disabling key messaging features from user accounts if they didn’t sign up to the new Terms of Service. Those who haven’t agreed to the fine print will still be able to take calls, make video calls, and reply to texts – a pretty substantial change from what users had been threatening for months earlier this year.
