Facebook plans to integrate the messaging services of WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger, according to reports.
The social media giant plans to complete the merger by the end of this year or early next year, The New York Times reported.
All three services will continue operating as stand-alone apps but their underlying messaging infrastructure will be unified, according to four people involved in the effort.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also ordered all of the apps to be end-to-end encrypted, the newspaper reported.
Once complete, the changes would mean that someone using Facebook would be able to send an encrypted message directly to a person who only uses WhatsApp.
This is currently not possible because the apps are separate.
The aim is believed to be to keep up engagement within Facebook's network of users.
A spokesman for Facebook said: “We want to build the best messaging experiences we can; and people want messaging to be fast, simple, reliable and private.
"We're working on making more of our messaging products end-to-end encrypted and considering ways to make it easier to reach friends and family across networks. As you would expect, there is a lot of discussion and debate as we begin the long process of figuring out all the details of how this will work."
Linking the three systems marks a significant change at Facebook as previously Mr Zuckerberg promised WhatsApp and Instagram autonomy from its parent company.
The NYT has claimed the move has caused "internal strife".
The founders of both Instagram and WhatsApp left last year.
