- Instagram has announced a bunch of new direct messaging features.
- Users can edit DMs, switch off read receipts, and pin messages from their top contacts.
- Messaging has been a top priority for Instagram over the past couple of years.
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Instagram has announced a new feature that allows you to edit a direct message — as long as you realize your mistake within 15 minutes.
The edit button will appear when you press and hold the message, and you can alter your response. The app lets the recipient know the message has been edited, but won’t tell them what’s been changed. Before this update, users had to unsend a message, leading to its deletion, if they wanted to undo their mistakes.
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You can also switch off read receipts if you don’t want someone to know you’ve seen their message. It can apply to specific people or all your chats. Read receipts can be altered by going to “messaging and story replies” in account settings and toggling the read receipts button off.
You’ll also soon be able to pin three message threads at the top of your inbox. Instead of scrolling through a bunch of messages, you can keep the messages from those you speak to the most up top.
Meta is rolling out other DM upgrades, like letting users respond to messages with stickers, gifs, videos, and voicenotes, as well as allowing them to customize their chat background — similar to the features available on WhatsApp.
Messaging became a top priority for Instagram a few years ago as it shifted away from just being a photo-sharing app. Many people use DMs to share content rather than sharing on the main feed or stories. Back in 2022, Mark Zuckerberg said in an earnings call that one billion Reels were shared each day over DM.
Zuckerberg added that messaging presents a “major monetization opportunity” for Meta, especially through ads. Direct messaging also allows content creators to make money through subscriber-only group chats or to pitch paid partnerships with brands.
