It was almost 2 years ago: Instagram announced its new in-app messaging service, Instagram Direct. But the truth is that, once the “wow” effect slowly disappeared, nothing really happened around this new “messaging” service. In fact, almost no one has been using it (although Instagram claims 85 million people do so.)
But messaging is the big thing lately in the world of social media, and Instagram had to do something. Right?
Also Read: The Complete History of Instagram [infographic]
The announcement came in a blog post: As part of version 7.5 of the app, Instagram Direct gets a cool upgrade and becomes a “true” messaging service.
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To start with, you can now send content from your feed as a Direct message. Until now, you could only send original photos. This is a huge improvement. It promotes shareability of the content already shared within the app. And because the content you share through Instagram Direct will always link back to the original image and account, it will help your friends discover great content you like. To do that, just “tap” the arrow under any picture you see on your feed.
Instagram wanted this update because until now, people could only tag their friends in comments on pictures they liked, which usually resulted in a clutter of uninteresting comments for other users.
Conversation Threads
Threaded messages will make it much easier to hold proper conversations on Instagram Direct. Now, instead of creating new conversation every time you send a photo o a video, your threads will be based on the people you are talking to and the conversations will flow naturally. Also, you now have the ability to name groups so your conversations stay meaningful.
On top of that, Emoji are finally allowed in conversations and you can also respond with a quick selfie, directly from within the conversations you are having with your friends.
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Check out the video announcement:
Instagram Direct – Introducing Improvements from Instagram on Vimeo.