Wednesday, Sept. 2- Instagram, the Facebook-owned photo-sharing platform, has added new features to its direct messaging settings, adding private chat and group conversation services. The popular photo sharing network has enhanced its direct messaging service in a bid to let users stay longer on the app and site. The direct messaging feature for Instagram has first been launched in 2013.
Now, through messaging, users can send photos directly to their other friends or groups of friends. The direct messaging feature of Instagram, the Instagram Direct now allows message threads among users. When it was first launched two years ago, the service has drawn comparisons to Snapchat, according to 9to5 Mac. But the service has been limited to Instagram's own features.
Social media users are increasingly interested in holding conversations while online. So allowing users, especially the young ones, to do just that while sharing photos, for which Instagram is known, may just make the platform more attractive. Also, a trend has been observed in Instagram users. They talk about posts made by their friends, so the team behind the app thought the users will like it if they were able to immediately exchange messages about them or better yet, send photos back and forth with one another.
Apart from the photo sharing and private chat features, Direct now allows Giant Emoji messaging to keep the threads fun. A quick camera feature is also added for instant selfies to send among friends. The platform is also adding a feature that allows users to share content directly from the Instagram Timeline to Direct. Naming threads can now be done on Direct.
Instagram has over 300 million users. Direct, for its part, has 85 million users who use the service to share jokes, videos and photos among friends and family. The enhancements make Instagram a more exciting platform that lets users do more than scrolling and hit like. A few weeks back, Instagram has also announced that it will now allow landscape and portrait photos, a good upgrade from its square frame-only policy before.
Instagram is not the only platform which incorporated private chat and group messaging to be able to keep users engaged. Facebook has launched Messenger as a standalone app a few months back. Messenger is now available even for users outside of Facebook.
