Facebook F8: Social network to reveal plans for complete overhaul of Instagram and WhatsApp

Facebook is about to reveal the future of its social network, as well as WhatsApp and Instagram, at its biggest event of the year.

The company is expected to focus on its announcements about privacy and encryption as it begins its annual developer conference, known as F8. It has been attempting to fix its reputation in the wake of a number of scandals, including the Cambridge Analytica affair, which have led to a host of criticism about how it deals with its users' personal data.

But it is also expected to show off how that new future will change its messaging platforms, which it has said will soon be re-engineered to work together as part of a change of focus for the social media company.

Earlier this year, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said he believed the "future of communication will increasingly shift to private, encrypted services", and outlined plans to enable users to send secure messages between any of the firm's apps, including WhatsApp and Instagram as well as Facebook and Messenger.

At the company's annual F8 developer conference in California, Mr Zuckerberg is expected to be among the speakers outlining how the social network could implement such a service, and address fears about the idea - including suggestions that Facebook could use the connecting information to link identities across different platforms.

Facebook services currently use very little encryption by default - only WhatsApp secures messages automatically - but increasing security is part of the company's plans to keep users on its platforms for longer.

The social network has more than 2.3 billion monthly active users.

The two-day conference is also likely to see announcements about new features across Facebook's services, with news from Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp expected.

News around virtual reality platform Oculus could be among the announcements as well.

The social media giant may also use the event to discuss how it is increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor its platform for malicious content.

A recently published white paper by the UK Government around online harms called for the introduction of an independent regulator to oversee the enforcement of a duty of care on internet companies, as legislators look to crack down on the power and influence of social media.

Facebook has pledged to work with governments on increasing the regulation of the technology sector, and Mr Zuckerberg may choose to touch on the subject during his keynote speech.

Additional reporting by agencies