Last April Meta announced new features in its Instagram messaging service. Many of these new features are very similar to the existing ones in Facebook Messenger. Also from Meta and with which an interconnection has been established for a couple of years.
Among the novelties to highlight among these new functions of Instagram messaging, we can highlight two main ones:
- A faster way to respond to direct messages from the feed itself. Without the need to switch the screen to the message inbox.
- And the ability to send a 30-second preview of a song.
Browse and chat seamlessly
Instagram has developed a number of improvements to make it easier for us to chat, share, and reply seamlessly:
- Reply to messages while browsing: With this new update we can reply to a message from the Instagram feed itself. So there is no need to go back to the messaging section. This is achieved with the introduction of a special floating window prepared for it. This new feature makes chatting from the app much easier and simpler
- Quick Send to Friends: With this new feature, by tapping and holding the Share button, you can effortlessly re-share posts with your closest friends.
- See who’s online: At the top of your inbox, you can see who’s currently free to chat.
New experiences in your message threads
Other new features allow us to customize our threads:
- Play, Pause, and Replay: Enabled by integrations with Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Spotify coming soon, you can share a 30-second preview of a song with your friends who can listen right from the chat window.
- Send messages silently: Send messages without notifying your contacts late at night or when they’re busy by adding “@silent” to your message. This way you will not send unwanted notifications.
- Keep it on the lo-fi: The new lo-fi chat theme, with a new background full of pastel colors, will make your conversations feel more personal.
- Group surveys: A typical feature of Facebook Messenger group chats that allows us to create surveys (to decide leisure plans with friends, for example) directly in the conversation window and send them to our groups.
These new Instagram features were initially rolled out in select countries with the idea of expanding globally to the profiles of the millions of users who use the app around the world.