WhatsApp is adding an update to its latest beta that adds the “WhatsApp from Facebook” tag to the application.
This comes less than a week after the Facebook-owned platform started rolling out a feature called “Fingerprint lock” for its Android beta users.
The tag is visible under WhatsApp’s Settings and is a clear indication of Facebook marking its territory. Although Facebook has kept the app separate, the company hasn’t given up on the dream of a unified platform, the MSPoweruser reported on Saturday.
The social networking giant purchased WhatsApp back in February 2014 and has made sure that people know about the purchase and this is another step in that direction.
Meanwhile, when the Fingerprint lock feature is enabled, it would let people use fingerprint to open WhatsApp.
However, users would still be able to answer calls even when WhatsApp is locked, WABetaInfo, a fan website that tracks WhatsApp updates, reported earlier this week.
Previously, in a first step towards merging all its platforms into one unified experience for users, Facebook is adding its name to Instagram and WhatsApp. Instagram will soon become “Instagram from Facebook” and WhatsApp will turn into “WhatsApp from Facebook”, The Information reported late Friday.
The new titles will appear in the title for both apps in Apple’s App Store and Google Play store. “We want to be clearer about the products and services that are part of Facebook,” a spokesperson was quoted as saying. Employees for the apps were recently notified about the changes, “which come as antitrust regulators are examining Facebook’s acquisitions of both apps”, said the report.
The US federal Trade Commission (FTC) is now probing what prompted Facebook to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp. According to The Wall Street Journal, the FTC is looking to find out whether Facebook was trying to snuff out potential competitors before they could truly challenge the social media giant.
