In a first serious step to realise the dream of CEO Mark Zuckerberg to integrate its family of apps, Facebook on Wednesday announced to connect the Messenger and Instagram for cross-app chat with bringing some of the best Messenger features to the popular photo and video sharing platform.

Messages and calls from friends and family using Instagram will stay in your Instagram app but people using the Messenger app can now reach you on Instagram without you needing to download a new app, and vice versa, said dam Mosseri, Head of Instagram.

"You can also control where you receive messages and calls, such as in your chats, in your message requests or not at all," added Stan Chudnovsky, Head of Messenger.

The social network said it is also adding more than 10 new features like selfie stickers and Vanish Mode (where messages disappear after a certain period of time).

"We're also bringing familiar features from Messenger like replying to a specific message, forwarding a message, and customisable chat colours and themes," Mosseri said.

Facebook is rolling out these new features on Instagram and Messenger in a few countries around the world that will be expanded globally soon.

People on Instagram can decide whether to update immediately to this new experience.

"On Facebook's family of apps alone, people send more than 100 billion messages to their friends and family each day," Mosseri informed.

Other features coming soon to the new Messenger experience on Instagram are 'Communicate Across Apps,' 'Watch Together,' 'Forwarding,' 'Replies,' 'Animated Message Effects,' 'Message Controls' and 'Enhanced Reporting and Blocking Updates'.

"Over time, you'll see even more fun ways to connect with friends and family. Some features such as custom emoji reactions and selfie stickers will be available on Instagram first and will come to Messenger soon after," Facebook said.

The company said that with this new update, you'll have the choice and controls to manage your privacy, including whether message requests go to your Chats list, your Message Requests folder, or whether you receive them at all.

Zuckerberg last year detailed his vision for cross-app messaging across its family of apps, including end-to-end encrypted WhatsApp, that raised eyeballs globally.