Instagram brings Facebook Messenger into your DMs
- Instagram DMs can now connect to Facebook Messenger so you can send messages across apps.
- For now, at least, it’s optional.
- Disappearing messages and selfie stickers have hit DMs too.
Like it or not, Facebook Messenger could soon find its way into your Instagram DMs. Instagram announced its integration with Messenger so you can have some conversations without having to switch apps.
All messages and calls from other Instagram users stay on Instagram. This will not merge your Facebook and Instagram accounts. However, if you activate the connection, you can start conversations with Messenger friends or receive their messages. You can specify where (if any) these messages are arriving; B. through your regular Instagram DM chats or message requests.
You will also get some messenger functionality in Instagram. You can reply to certain messages, forward them, and customize your chat appearance. Custom emoji reactions are available now. In the future, you will see news effects, Watch Together experiences (including IGTV and Reels), optional disappearing messages, and selfie stickers.
The function is currently available in “some countries”, but should be expanded soon. The integration is optional, at least for now – you will get a prompt where you can decline it. The technology has been tested since the summer.
See also: The best chat and messenger apps for Android
Instagram characterized the link as eliminating confusion. One-third of Americans sometimes find it difficult to remember where to find a particular conversation, according to research on the social network. We’d like to add that this is part of an established Facebook plan to move to a more private and unified system where chats take precedence over shared posts.
Even so, there is little doubt that this could serve as a defensive tool for Facebook. You may be less likely to delete Instagram or Facebook Messenger knowing that DMs are showing up from one in the other – this is even more important to your digital life. You are less likely to turn to Snapchat, Telegram, or others
