Your Instagram DMs Are Getting an Update
Instagram DMs were never intended to be a primary form of communication, but for some of us they might as well be WhatsApp. What started as an easy way to share posts with other Instagram users has grown into a popular way to message friends even if the post or video has nothing to do with it.
But Instagram DM is not WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or Apple’s Messages app for that matter. As such, it doesn’t get the same attention as dedicated chat apps, so it lacks many of the features you’d expect when messaging friends. But many of these missing features end up in Insta DMs. Meta is now adding four such features to Instagram messaging.
You can finally edit your posts
When you send a message in one of Meta’s other chat apps, like WhatsApp or Messenger, you have the option to edit it if the words don’t sound the way you intended. Not so much with Instagram: although you can delete posts, editing hasn’t been possible on the platform until now.
Thanks to the Meta update, you can now edit your Instagram posts within 15 minutes of sending them. Just long-press on a message, select Edit , then make your changes before tapping Done to commit them.
You can pin chats to the top of the list
This feature isn’t quite standard yet, but it’s still useful: in a future update, you’ll be able to pin up to three chats to the top of your Instagram DM page. At first, these chats will look like the three most recent discussions in your private messages, but a tiny pin icon means they’re pinned to the top. In that sense, it’s not the best approach to this feature: Apple Messages, for example, clearly shows which chats are pinned and which are not.
Turn off read receipts for all private messages.
Back in late January , Instagram allowed us to turn off read receipts . However, you had to do this on an individual basis, which was not ideal. The app now allows you to turn off read receipts for all chats, which is a much-needed improvement.
To do this, go to your account settings in the app, then select Messages & Replies in Stories > Show Read Receipts . Now just turn off read receipts .
Better answer
The next time you reply to a private message on Instagram, you may notice that you have more options than ever. You can later add stickers, GIFs, videos, photos, and voice messages to your inline reply.
Save your stickers
Stickers are having a moment. Custom icons became popular in the mid-2010s, but after their peak, their popularity seems to have declined. But over the past couple of years, tech companies have added sticker features to their apps to make them better and easier to use.
All this is to say, the next time you use a sticker you really like in an Instagram private message, tap and hold on it and you can save it to the top of your sticker drawer for easy access in the future.
Additional chat topics
Chat threads are one of the few reasons I can’t leave meta platforms like Facebook Messenger and Instagram DMs. They make chats more interesting and personal, which is why I welcome more theme options on Instagram. Meta reports that the latest includes an Avatar: The Last Airbender theme, an animated Love theme, and “many more.”