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Instagram Direct becomes a proper messaging app

Instagram has served up a major update to the direct messaging section of its app.

The Facebook-owned photo-sharing app has now added the ability for users to exchange threaded messages and share content from your feed as a direct message.

Instagram says threaded messages will make it easier for users to go back and forth rather than start a new message every time they wish to sent a photo or video.

Groups can now be named, users can respond with photos “on the fly” and there’s also “larger than life emojis” to accompany the comments.

Today’s updates also bring a brand new way to start conversations around what you see on Instagram,” the company wrote on its official blog.

“When you find something inspiring or funny, your first instinct is often to share it with friends who you know will appreciate it. Today, people do this by @-mentioning friends in comments, so much so that nearly 40% of comments include an @-mention. This update has made it easier to share content that you love.”

Within the feeds there’s now an arrow sitting beneath a post next to the like or comment button.

See also:
10 British photographers to follow on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

Tapping that share button will enable the image to be sent using Instagram Direct. The company will hope the expanded functionality will get more of its user base rocking the Direct messaging feature.

Right now about 85 million people a month are using Instagram Direct, but that’s less than a third of the company’s 300m members

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