Skip to main content

Yep, Instagram just got private messages: What you need to know about Instagram Direct

instagram event direct
Instagram's private messaging feature has arrived. Image used with permission by copyright holder

Instagram introduced its private messaging feature, Instagram Direct.

tumblr_inline_mxnh6fzpeS1qm4rc3
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Until now, Instagram users have been able to share their photos and videos either to the public or their list of followers, and any text-based communications happened in the comments under the photos. Instagram Direct introduces an entirely new way to communicate on the photo-sharing service. Users can exchange private messages with up to 15 people in one thread, creating groups based on similar interests, or facilitating more intimate conversations between partners or friends. Users can receive photos and videos from people they follow, although anyone can send private-message a user in the form of a “pending request.” This could be a problem if spammers try to use this channel – it may be a bad idea (and I suspect Instagram users with very high follower counts will end up ignoring their “pending request” box). 

Instagram Direct shares some aesthetic similarities to Facebook Messenger, with user profiles in small circles. And since Facebook owns Instagram, they’re not really in competition here, but Instagram Direct has two major rivals: Snapchat and Twitter. 

“What’s really important to Instagram is you need to remember these moments,” said Instagram CEO and cofounder Kevin Systrom, a subtle jab at Snapchat. Unlike the disappearing photo chat service, Instagram Direct keeps an accessible log of prior conversations, so users can revisit pictures and messages sent in the past. 

Twitter debuted the ability to send photos in its direct messages yesterday, an attempt to attract users to its private messaging function, but that smaller adjustment may be overshadowed by Instagram’s announcement. 

Instagram created a video explaining the feature: 

Editors' Recommendations

Kate Knibbs
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kate Knibbs is a writer from Chicago. She is very happy that her borderline-unhealthy Internet habits are rewarded with a…
WhatsApp now lets you add short video messages to chats
WhatsApp logo on a phone.

You can now send short video messages in a WhatsApp chat, Meta announced on Thursday.

A video message can last for up to 60 seconds long and is protected with end-to-end encryption.

Read more
Musk shows off new X sign on top of San Francisco HQ, but the city’s not happy
The new X sign replacing the Twitter logo on the company's headquarters in San Francisco.

Soon after Elon Musk tweeted a drone video showing a new white light in the shape of an X atop the company’s headquarters in San Francisco on Friday, the Associated Press (AP) reported that the city had decided to launch in investigation over concerns that the sign's installation may have broken rules.

The X logo is replacing the iconic Twitter bird as Musk continues efforts to rebrand the social media platform that he acquired in October.

Read more
Threads has lost half its users, according to Meta chief Zuckerberg
Instagram Threads app.

Meta’s Threads app looks set for an uphill climb if it’s ever to take the microblogging crown from Twitter, which is currently being rebranded as X.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently told employees that despite its impressive start in early July when around 100 million people activated a Threads account in its first five days of availability, more than half of those users have stopped checking in.

Read more