Introducing Improvements to Instagram Direct

We launched Instagram Direct in 2013 as a way to share moments with one person or a smaller group. Now more than 85 million people use Direct every month to send inside jokes, family videos, photos from road trips and other moments meant only for a handful of people. Today we’re announcing improvements to Instagram Direct including threaded messages and sending content from your feed as a Direct message.

Threaded messages make it easier to go back and forth with the people you talk to the most. Instead of creating a new conversation every time you send a photo or video, your threads are based on the people in them – and your moments flow along naturally. We’ve also added the ability to name your groups, a quick camera feature to respond with a selfie on the fly, and larger-than-life emoji for when there are just no words.

Today’s updates also bring a brand new way to start conversations around what you see on Instagram. 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.

Now, you’ll find an arrow next to the like and comment icons under every post. Tap it to send that post to a friend or group as a message using Instagram Direct. It will appear as part of your conversation, and you can tap the photo or video to see and like the original post. You can also send hashtag pages and location pages by tapping the arrow icon in the top right-hand corner.

Privacy works the same way as it always has on Instagram. Photos and videos sent using Direct are only visible to people who could already see them. If the owner of a photo or video has their account set to private, only people who follow their account will be able to see it if it’s sent as a message in Direct. And, as always, you own your photos and videos – today’s updates do not change that.

With these changes to Direct, it’s easier to connect around the things you love. We hope it helps bring the community closer together than ever.

To learn more about today’s updates to Instagram Direct, check out the Instagram Help Center.

Instagram for iOS version 7.5 is available today in Apple’s App Store, and Instagram for Android version 7.5 is available today on Google Play.