Instagram has announced the final merger with Facebook’s messenger application. The Insta DMs will now have all the features the messenger application has.
“More than a billion people already use Messenger as a place to share, hang out and express themselves with family and friends. That’s why we’re connecting the Messenger and Instagram experience to bring some of the best Messenger features to Instagram – so you have access to the best Messaging experience, no matter which App you use. People on Instagram can decide whether to update immediately to this new experience”, the blog post announcing the merger, read.
People will also have the ability to turn off the messenger experience if they want to stick to the traditional Instagram DM experience. Instagram has also said that even if the other person doesn’t have a Facebook account and the messenger application, even then one can fully experience the new messenger experience.
These are all the new features coming to the Instagram DMs:
Communicate Across Apps: Seamlessly connect with friends and family across Instagram and Messenger by using either app to send messages and join video calls.
Watch Together: Enjoy watching videos on Facebook Watch, IGTV, Reels (coming soon!), TV shows, movies, and more with friends and family during a video call.
Vanish Mode: Choose a mode where seen messages disappear after they’re seen or when you close the chat.
Selfie Stickers: Create a series of boomerang stickers with your selfie to use in conversation.
Chat Colors: Personalize your chats with fun color gradients.
Custom Emoji Reactions: Create a shortcut of your favorite emojis to react quickly to messages from friends.
Forwarding: Easily share great content with up to five friends or groups.
Replies: Respond directly to a specific message in your chat and keep the conversation flowing.
Animated Message Effects: Add visual flair to your message with animated send effects.
Message Controls: Decide who can message you directly, and who can’t message you at all.
Enhanced Reporting and Blocking Updates: Now you can report full conversations in addition to single messages on Instagram, and receive proactive blocking suggestions across Instagram and Messenger when you add your accounts in the new Accounts Center.
Instagram is also announcing new Privacy features which will allow you to manage your privacy even more securely, including whether message requests go to your Chats list, your Message Requests folder, or whether you receive them at all.
Instagram says that the new feature is now rolling out to a few countries, names of which haven’t been mentioned yet. It should be expanding globally soon.