Facebook enabled Instagram users to exchange messages and calls with users on Messenger, following through on a long-discussed plan to increase interoperability between its apps.

In a blog, Instagram head Adam Mosseri and Messenger chief Stan Chudnovsky said the goal was to make it “easier to stay connected without thinking about which app to use”.

Instagram users also gained access to other Messenger features, including content viewing service Watch Together, message forwarding, animated effects, customisable chat colours and the ability to set messages to disappear from a conversation after a set period of time.

User can block and sort message requests.

Facebook reportedly began working on cross-platform messaging in January 2019 as part of a broader push to make its apps interoperable.

In May, the company launched an e-commerce feature enabling small businesses to create a single digital storefront visible across its entire family of apps.