What you need to know
- Meta has announced several new messaging updates for the Instagram app.
- Users will now be able to respond to new messages without navigating to the inbox.
- Tapping and holding the "share" button on a post will bring up your closest friends.
- Soon, users will be able to share music previews from Apple Music, Amazon Music and Spotify.
Following new messaging updates for WhatsApp and Messanger, Meta is now introducing a slew of features headed to Instagram. The updates are poised to make it easier to share posts and respond to messages from wherever you are.
One handy change coming to Instagram DMs is the ability to respond to new messages while you browse. Instead of interrupting your browsing session, users will have a new in-app notification that will enable quick responses from where you are without needing to navigate to the inbox.
Additionally, when you find a post you want to share, you can now do so more quickly by pressing and holding the "send" button. This will display a row of "your closest friends" that you can quickly share the post with — again, without interrupting your browsing. And in case you find yourself in your inbox, Meta is highlighting how a row at the top of your inbox — à la Messenger — that will show you who is online and available to chat.
Meta is also bringing a new feature to Instagram that just rolled out to Messenger. New silent messages allow you to hit up your buddies without it resulting in a notification, which can be particularly helpful if you're sending a message late at night or just don't want to necessarily bother someone.
Instagram is also introducing a new lo-fi chat theme and the ability to send polls in group messages, again borrowing from Messenger.
Soon, users will be able to share previews of their favorite tunes thanks to integrations with some of the best music streaming services like Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Music. This will allow users to preview up to 30 seconds of a song directly in the chat, which can be great for music discovery.
These features come just a day after Meta announced a slew of updates for WhatsApp's voice messaging feature, showing that the company is on a roll pushing out new features to enhance its messaging apps. Instagram's new features are rolling out "in select countries" now, with plans to expand them globally soon.
