Instagram’s direct message recently received significant changes. The revamp, which includes seven new features that will enhance the functionality of Instagram messaging, comes among a broader reimagining of the Instagram application away from photo sharing and towards super-app status.
One of the new features declared on Thursday is the possibility to send around 30 second Spotify music previews in the messages, create polls in group messages, send messages silently, and quickly check who is online. The recent updates will also allow users to respond to messages even while browsing in their feed; it means all you doom scrollers will not be required to keep your eyes to whatever wretched catastrophe or ads are trying to grab your attention! By contrast, with the latest silent feature, more considerate users will be able to send messages to people without receiving potentially annoying notifications by using the @silent tag option in their Direct Message (DM).
Instagram’s latest features will not necessarily apply to everyone. Instagram Company stated to the media that various features, including chat themes, quick-send, and music sharing features, are only available to the users who have chosen the updated version of messaging introduced in 2020, which lets cross-communication with Messenger and Instagram. The new features are available just a week after the Instagram application reintroduced its chronological feed, allowing users to see various posts in reverse chronological order with minor algorithmic mischief.
Instagram’s “No Longer a Photo-Sharing Application”
Though the Instagram messaging changes appear minor and gradual, also they are part of a more significant philosophical move by Instagram Company to improve the application’s overall capabilities. Adam Mosseri, Head of the Instagram Company, posted a video on the platform in which he declared that Instagram was “no longer a photo-sharing application.” In the video, Adam Mosseri discussed the Company’s plans to increase Instagram’s presence in e-commerce, messaging, and online creator relationships.
“How individuals connect with their friends has changed a lot in the last five years, and it’s moved primarily to messaging, away from Stories and Feed,” Adam Mosseri explained. “People say the biggest reason they use Instagram in research is to be entertained.”
The decision to expand the Instagram app presence as a kind of all-in-one super application comes when the Big Blue Facebook application is experiencing some difficulties.
Before this year, the Facebook application revealed its first quarterly drop in daily active users throughout the Company’s history, the decline triggered by its poor performance among young Facebook users. On the other hand, the Instagram app appeals to young users, even though it also has its problems. The change occurs when users flock to competitors like the TikTok application and others that have established a strong foothold in the short-form video space. Mosseri acknowledged the pressures from TikTok in his post.
“Let us be truthful; currently, there is serious competition among various social applications,” Mosseri stated. “TikTok application is huge, YouTube application is even bigger, and there are many other application upstarts in the future.”
One major area for communication the Instagram app has not been as keen on emphasizing is voice messaging. Instagram added this feature in 2018; however, it has not taken off the same way as a few Meta applications. For instance, WhatsApp has recently announced that its users send out 7 billion voice messages per day.
ABOUT AUTHOR
Devoted my whole life to words - reading, writing and trying to be original on social media. Got certified in digital marketing - still not cool enough to be an influencer. Finished a master’s degree focused in Literature, Publishing, Mass Media. Hobbies include traveling, reading and hoping that yoga will be the thing to finally teach me some patience. Would like to take over the world at some point, but that’s an optional dream. Maybe modern tech can help me do that?
