Why has a new WhatsApp icon appeared on my Facebook profile?

When Facebook bought WhatsApp, many users cried out loud. They were suspicious that a company as strong as Matt Zuckerberg's would cross data with the green messaging service Despite European intervention, which led to fines, nothing has stopped the synchronization process of both apps.

Now we have just seen a new sample of that integration. Just like what happened with Instagram, now we can access WhatsApp with a direct link from our Facebook profile. For now, it only happens in the mobile version.

Direct access

When we entered our Facebook home menu for Android, until now we found access to our profile, our pages and also our Instagram profile, with the number of friends we have available. Now, in addition, we have a WhatsApp button, in which our name, avatar or status does not appear (yet), only the green icon.

In the version for iPhone this synchronization has not yet occurred, but it is a matter of time. In fact, the Instagram icon itself appears as an option within the Explore section, it still doesn't count as one more profile to choose from. As we tell you, don't claim victory if you have an iPhone, the change will come just the same.

How far will this integration go?

Whether we like it or not, Facebook owns WhatsApp. This means that little is going to continue taking steps to deepen this synchronization. Having a button to enter WhatsApp is just the beginning If we have to make hypotheses, a next step would be for the photo and video albums of both services to be shared, as well as the States. It would not be unreasonable to think that our WhatsApp and Facebook profiles would merge into one, as is already the case with Instagram ( although, let's face it, it is still not mandatory).

The enigma of WhatsApp monetization

What Matt Zuckerberg's company has not yet done is make money from the WhatsApp service itself. On Instagram, for example, we can promote content to reach more users, if we have a business profile linked to Facebook.

How could I do the same with WhatsApp? The possibilities seem limited, since it is a highly private service, focused on a very specific network of contacts that is the telephone bookAs we can see, the machinery of Facebook is in motion, so maybe we will answer that question sooner than we think.

The oligopoly of social networks

Facebook already has 2,000 million active users, while WhatsApp follows as the second most used network, with 1,200 million. A non-existent competition that only makes clear the absolute dominance of the big F in the world of social networks

SOnly Google threatens hegemony, and it is obviously not because of Google+, but because of YouTube, the Internet newspaper library. It remains to be seen for how long, since Zuckerberg's people are testing Watch, a system that seeks to attract video traffic to Facebook.

Far away is Twitter, stagnant at 320 million users, or Snapchat, the great hope of the networks that was engulfed by Instagram Stories.The yellow network of the ghost has to settle for a "miserable" 150 million users. The truth is that, without realizing it, corporatism has arrived on the Internet, and intends to stay Wait and see.