Facebook is likely testing WhatsApp shortcut button on Android

It looks like Facebook is in plans to bring its messaging platform WhatsApp closer to its main social networking app. We say so as the company seems to be testing a new feature that will let users quickly switch between both Facebook and WhatsApp apps just by clicking on a shortcut on the former.

According to a report by The Next Web, the social networking giant is testing a new WhatsApp shortcut button on the Facebook feed of select users. The Android app of Facebook is seen with the WhatsApp button in the image above. Clicking on the shortcut placed in the menu area will open the WhatsApp app without leaving Facebook. Notably, the report claims that the select users who have set Danish as their default language on Facebook have seen this feature.

Facebook is reportedly testing a new "Snooze" feature

It remains unclear about when will happen when a user who does not have WhatsApp installed on the device taps on the shortcut button on Facebook. One thing that we can ascertain is that Facebook might have plans to boost the user base of the messaging platform that is struggling to gain traction in some Western markets including the U.S. The company is believed to bring about additional integrations to WhatsApp before rolling out this shortcut button feature to all the users.

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We can expect this shortcut button to be rolled out to all users in the coming months based on the response that they get for the same. However, it is uncertain if everyone will get this and we need to wait for the company to reveal an official confirmation regarding the same.

Last year, Facebook started using some user details on WhatsApp for ads and other purposes. This move by the company was criticized by the privacy enthusiasts as WhatsApp stated that it would never share the user data with the social networking firm that owns it since 2014.