Home
Social networking
Social networking News
Instagram Direct Messaging Feature for Web Spotted in Testing

Instagram Direct Messaging Feature for Web Spotted in Testing

By Harpreet Singh | Updated: 13 February 2019 14:07 IST

Photo Credit: Twitter/ Jane Manchun Wong

Instagram may be internally testing its direct messaging feature on the web

Highlights

Instagram Direct messaging feature could be coming to the Web
Instagram seems to be internally testing the new feature
Currently, Instagram users need to use the mobile app for messaging

If you spend a lot of time chatting on Instagram, there's good news for you. Instagram seems to be internally testing a Web version of its direct messaging service on the mobile app. This means Instagram users will be able to send messages, photos, emojis, to their friends via a desktop, laptop, PC, or a Mac. Instagram may also bring its direct messaging feature to its mobile website.

As of now, Instagram offers a pretty vanilla experience for desktop users. Web-based direct messages have been one of the most demanded features amongst Instagram users for a while now. Instagram users on the Web can't post stories from the desktop, but Facebook allows users to post stories from the web.

The upcoming feature was spotted by app researcher Jane Manchun Wong. While the feature isn't available to public users yet, Instagram seems to be internally testing it to weed out bugs and make improvements. Wong was able to access the feature on a desktop as well as a mobile browser.

Bringing Instagram Direct to the Web could help the company further increase engagement. Cross-platform messaging services make lives easier for users, and at times become a great alternative to SMS for users. Currently, users need access to Instagram's mobile apps to send and receive direct messages.

Instagram's Direct on Web will also be available on desktop pic.twitter.com/Y3iTIdDwKV
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) February 12, 2019

Facebook plans to integrate its major messaging services and products this year which include Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram Direct. A Web presence for Instagram Direct seems like one of the first few steps in that direction.

However, Mark Zuckerberg has said the integration isn't planned for this year.

After cloning the stories format from Snapchat, Instagram's engagement rates have grown massively. Instagram's stories format now has over 500 million active daily users, according to the company.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Instagram, Instagram Direct

Harpreet Singh

Email Harpreet

Harpreet is the community manager at Gadgets 360. He loves all things tech, and can be found hunting for good deals when he is not shopping online. He has written about deals and e-commerce in India for many years, as well as covering social media and breaking technology news. More