Facebook will bring audio and video calling back to its main app

Facebook announced Monday that it will bring back audio and video calling to its main app. The change is considered "just a test" and may already be seen by a small group of users.

According to a source, Mark Zuckerberg's company has decided to backtrack and will once again add communication features to the Facebook app.

A few years ago, users could send messages to other Facebook users through the social network's main app. However, in 2014, the company announced that the Messenger platform would become a separate app. At the time, Facebook argued that Messenger needed to have its own app to gain even more features, and indeed, the Messenger app has grown significantly since then.

While audio and video calls are returning to the Facebook app, text chat remains available exclusively in the Messenger app for now. Earlier this month, Facebook already announced end-to-end encryption for audio and video calls in Messenger. The latest update also added support for QR codes and payment links.

According to Connor Hayes, Chief Product Officer of Messenger, the new communication features in the Facebook app are now being rolled out to select users in the US. No word yet on expanding to more users or regions.

Source: bloomberg

Illustration: 9to5mac