Instagram may be following in the footsteps of Facebook by removing it’s private messaging option from the main app and to a separate app called Direct.
Available now, downloading Direct will mean that the inbox disappears from the main app but as of yet it, according to The Verge, is only being tested in six countries; Israel, Chile, Italy, Portugal, Turkey and Uruguay. However, a comment from product manager Hemal Shah suggests that the company has already made up its mind regarding whether or not Direct will stay or not.
Direct has grown within Instagram over the past four years, but we can make it even better if it stands on its own. We can push the boundaries to create the fastest and most creative space for private sharing when Direct is a camera-first, standalone app.
There are many messaging apps competing for attention at the moment that Instagram has chosen to keep its focus firmly on photos. To do this, they’ve made sure that the app opens straight into the camera.
This latest trial follows just behind two new features in the main app: Highlights and Archive. The first lets you turn your Stories into a featured post at the top of your profile page and Archive lets you view your past Stories even once they’ve expired.