Are Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp the same thing? What are the differences between the two applications?

Despite the confusion caused in the business world after Facebook ‘s purchase of WhatsApp in 2014 – for about $ 22 billion – the president of the social network, Mark Zuckerberg , has repeatedly explained that there is a big difference between WA and FB.

To clarify the differences between the two messaging apps, Zuckerberg said during a meeting with investors that while WhatsApp is only intended to replace traditional text messages (SMS), Facebook Messenger aims to create a network . of friends and “providing a richer experience”, such as being able to send money to one user to another. “Fb Messenger focuses on the efficient use of a whole range of tools that can be explored in the Messenger platform,” he said.

Despite the apparent similarity between the two applications, however, each can boast the largest number of users in their respective sectors, which are worth the title of the most used messaging services in the world. WhatsApp has 800 million active users every month and Facebook Messenger more than 600 million (as of April 2015).

While Zuckerberg admitted that “at first glance it might seem a bit contradictory,” the way the company treats the two applications is profoundly different.

During the developer conference held in March in the United States, for example, a new platform was presented to encourage the development of third-party applications that are able to interact with Facebook Messenger. With respect to this choice, the co-founder of WhatsApp, Brian Acton , has clearly indicated that it is a strategy reserved only for Messenger. According to Acton, “the team is aware of the different user experience between applications and, as a result, the two strategies are not identical.”

We hope that Mark will be able to achieve the consolidation of his business in the coming months because, despite having more than 1.4 billion users in total around the world , he has not yet had the economic return that would be tempting Wall Street investors. But the little genius, you know, is full of surprises.

But where does the confusion between WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger come from?

Similar name. The first thing that has confused users is the name. The complete one of WA is in fact WhatsApp Messenger, very similar to Facebook Messenger. Yes, it is the “Messenger” that deceives.
The same owner. Other doubts arise from the fact that Mark Zuckerberg owns both applications. Facebook is his creation, while WhatsApp bought it only in 2014 (for the modest sum of 22 billion dollars).

Similar functions (but different basis). Another chapter that has created confusion are the many functions that we find in both applications, such as the ability to send and receive messages, use emoticons, create groups, make voice calls, etc. A factor that has become even more relevant since Facebook forced smartphone users to download the Facebook Messenger app in order to use the messaging service, which previously could be done directly from the Facebook application. One difference, however, remains. And it is essential. While an email and a password are used to access Facebook, WhatsApp is associated with the phone number of the mobile phone on which it is installed. And that changes everything, because the telephone number is a very personal thing. What changes?

Well, let’s think for example of the phenomenon of “pushed” messages that today have become all the rage on WhatsApp. Why don’t you send them via Facebook too? Because Facebook is a bit like a square, where privacy is less “secure”. On WhatsApp, on the other hand, we are in a private world. We feel safer . And therefore we are willing to expose ourselves more (in reality this is just a wrong perception, and even on WhatsApp it is good to put in place safe rules to protect privacy ).

In short, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are NOT the same thing , and unlikely – contrary to what is rumored in some newspapers on the net – the two applications will come to a “merger”. The reason? There is simply no reason to do it. As if to say: team that wins, you don’t change.