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Facebook Merges Social Media Notifications

Facebook’s latest feature has tweaked the notification system and it looks like their family of apps are moving in together. Three big social media platforms (Facebook, Messenger and Instagram) are testing a feature that shows cross-app notifications and allows you […]

Facebook’s latest feature has tweaked the notification system and it looks like their family of apps are moving in together.

Three big social media platforms (Facebook, Messenger and Instagram) are testing a feature that shows cross-app notifications and allows you to immediately switch between them. By bundling the notifications together, it will streamline users’ apps. But how beneficial are aggregated notifications?

I don’t know about this one. Source.

The feature, spotted by social media analyst Mari Smith who confirmed it to TechCrunch, reveals its potential at managing our social media. It welcomes synergy within social media, a quicker method at flicking between various profiles and accounts on your NewsFeed. While it would increase engagement across the three apps by using the familiar red notifications to gain your attention, it can also be frustrating.

In a way, engagement with the apps will be out of annoyance. If you miss something the red notification will remain there until touched – unless you click on the notification or don’t activate push notifications. It also brings about a certain anxiety around unread notifications as those red symbols will draw people to their phones to get rid of them.

The way to spot the feature is if your Messenger logo in the top right-hand corner has changed to your profile picture, and you can see the total sum of notifications from your other profiles. A pop below shows your other profiles on Facebook, Messenger and Instagram with pending notifications. With a tap, you’re on another platform.

An example of the feature provided by Mari Smith for TechCrunch. Source.

A representative from Facebook confirmed the feature to TechCrunch and stated:

“We are conducting a very small test to make it easier for people to discover and connect with the people and things they care about. We’re exploring ways to help people switch more easily between their Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram accounts.”

It seems the feature has simply provided a basis for people to spend more time on social media, and particularly on Facebook, Messenger and Instagram. While this test may prove to be infuriating rather than innovative, there’s still time for the feature to be somewhat tweaked to improve functionality for the sake of its users.