Why can’t a messaging app just send messages? Why does it have to include a social network?!
Silicon Valley corporations don't know the meaning of a stable business model. Infinite growth or bust, only they always seem to find their way around to bust.
I think the idea is migrate from a simple messaging app to a hub of social functionalities, like WeChat in China. And this is one more step in this way. I prefer smaller apps and focused in one and only one functionality but with the capability of integrate with other apps more like an ecosystem
Honestly I think Fediverse + IPFS + Matrix + Email all rolled into one app and you could have a pretty powerful "everything app" with a huge amount of features, but none of the lock in (so users that don't use the app aren't excluded and vice versa).
I'm not opposed to it, as long as it isn't intrusive and you have the option to turn it off. I know Signal introduced Stories (similar to Snapchat/IG stories), which is also a social media aspect in a messaging app, but you could outright turn that feature off and keep using it simply as a messaging app.
I don't like it. It's closed source and we have no idea what Zuck is doing behind the scenes. If it was open source I would trust it a lot more readily, but there's 0 chance of that ever happening.
As much as I dislike Whatsapp (which is a lot), it seems in the article that their intent is to offer an alternative to public Twitter feeds for companies, celebrities and such. Could be a good idea, and the last nail in the coffin for Twitter.
Meta is going full on Google now: Launch multiple competing products, see what works, kill what doesn't. Insta is trying to become Twitter, WA is doing whatever shit this is and Facebook is the equivalent of Orkut, only much bigger. 🍿