Meta-owned Instagram has announced several new messaging features to its app. This comes just a day after Meta announced a series of updates to its Whatsapp voice messaging feature.
The enhancements are part of the company’s larger efforts to improve user communication with friends. Last year, the company promised that its direct messaging service would get an upgrade in 2022.
New features to Instagram’s messaging thread
Instagram has introduced a ‘reply while browsing’ feature, making it easier and more convenient to chat while on the app. It will enable users to respond to new messages without navigating to the inbox.
Users can also quickly reshare posts to close friends by tapping and holding the share button. At the top of the inbox, users will be able to see friends who are online to connect. Instagram will integrate with Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Spotify to allow users to share 30-second song previews in chats. The receiver can listen to the audio directly from the chat window.
Users can send silent messages to their friends without a notification. Meta recently rolled out the feature to its Messanger app. It has also enabled a ‘lo-fi’ chat theme to make conversations feel more personal. Instagram users can create a poll directly in the group chat, a similar feature available in Meta’s Messenger app.
The new features, which are presently available in a few countries, will be rolled out globally soon. Recently, a Twitter post by software developer Alessandro Paluzzi said Instagram has also been testing to respond to stories with an image or voice message and also let users share posts using a QR code.