The two firms have remained largely separate until now. Facebook has allowed WhatsApp to do its own thing when updating its app and adding new features, keeping WhatsApp’s 900 million users separate from the billion on its core social network.
Android Authority reports this could be about to change. Android developer Javier Santos shared some screenshots on Google+ of hidden settings within WhatsApp that appear to confirm the development and approaching launch of closer integration with Facebook.
Hidden settings in WhatsApp Beta suggest the company will soon start sharing user data with parent company Facebook
Javier Santos on Google+
By using a terminal to force the app to reveal its secrets, Santos uncovered a usually invisible option in the Account settings menu, “Share my account info.” It has a description of “Share my WhatsApp account information with Facebook to improve my Facebook experiences.”
It is unclear how sharing details will improve experiences on Facebook. It could allow for integration between Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp or be a simple tool designed to let users of either platform find friends already using the other.
The data could also be used to make the adverts displayed on Facebook more relevant to the user. By incorporating details from WhatsApp profiles as well as the pool of information already used to decide which ads to display, Facebook could make adverts even more targeted towards individual users.
Santos also discovered another hidden feature in the app. It lets users verify their chats and calls are being encrypted correctly by showing security indicators. QR codes and a new “verify security number” option in contact profile pages will let participants in a conversation confirm that the chat is protected from outside tapping.
The discovery comes just a few days after WhatsApp announced the end of its $1 annual subscription charge. The company is also working on a number of features similar in design to what Facebook is doing with Messenger, suggesting that closer ties between the two platforms way well be coming in the future.
WhatsApp is building in support for chatting with businesses and organisations in the same way users communicate with friends and family, a feature Facebook Messenger already has. After leaving WhatsApp to operate largely without intervention throughout 2015, it looks as though Facebook may be planning to pull it closer in over the next few months.
