Facebook is now joining a growing list of companies who are pushing Apple to open up its iOS platform even further. According to a report by The Information, Facebook wants Apple to allow its ‘Messenger’ service (or any other messaging service for that matter) as their default messaging app. The social media giant has been trying to get Apple to agree on this for years now, but has reinvigorated its efforts after the launch of iOS 14, which allows users to set third party apps as default web browsers and email apps.
While Messenger is clearly not the best messaging app that is out there, this can still be refreshing change if implemented. Apple has certainly warmed up to the idea of third party applications being used as defaults, and pushing the same idea to messaging could be beneficial for Apple users.
“We feel people should be able to choose different messaging apps and the default on their phone,” Stan Chudnovsky, the Facebook vice president in charge of its Messenger app, told The Information. “Generally, everything is moving this direction anyway.”
That being said, I am not entirely sure if many Apple users will want to make the switch. Apple’s iMessage app is one of the distinctive features that let Apple has marketed on privacy for years now. And there clearly is no better solution out there right now, which can compare to iMessage in terms of user data privacy. Yes, there are few features lacking here and there, but most of them are gimmicky and come below the more crucial user privacy aspect.
Nonetheless, it couldn’t hurt to have the extra option. Moreover, it will also help clear the tag of “monopolist” that is now frequently used to describe the Cupertino giant, especially when it comes to its App Stores. In fact, Spotify, Epic Games, Match Group, and Basecamp have all come together to join a non profit organization that plans to advocate for regulatory and legal actions against the tech giant’s app store policies. Thus, a change like this can help Apple scrub some of the dirt off of its names.
Moreover, it’s not like the company isn’t trying to clear its images. Recently, it decided to temporarily wave off its App Store fee for Facebook’s online events to help businesses, even if it had to be publicly shamed for that. Thus, there’s a chance that Apple might agree to Facebook’s proposition, however slight it may be.
