Instagram is where the world connects through publicized photos and videos.
But as Instagram has become so synonymous with social media, users also use the platform to communicate with other users in private. This is why Meta thinks that the feature needs some upgrades, in order to provide an enhanced experience for users wherever they are.
In an announcement, Meta said that:
Instagram stated in its own blog post:
First up, is an updated DM sticker tray, where Instagram introduces 17 new sticker packs and over 300 new stickers.
For convenience, Instagram is allowing users to favorite a sticker from your chat so that they can re-use stickers shared by friends or those they've created with cutouts.
Next, is the ability to create nicknames.
According to Instagram, users can customize names across DMs by adding a nickname for themselves or their friends.
These nicknames only appear in DM chats, meaning that creating one will not change users' handle or username elsewhere on Instagram.
"You’re always in control and can change your nickname at any time, and you can decide who can change your nickname within a chat. By default this is set to people you follow, but you can also change this so only you can update your nickname," explained Instagram.
To create a nickname, users can tap on the chat name at the top of their conversation.
They can then tap on 'Nicknames' and create the username of the person they want to add a nickname for in the chat.
"You can change your nickname at any time, and can decide who in a chat is able to change your nickname," added Meta.
Lastly, Instagram introduces location sharing so users can make a meet up in person easier.
Users can share their live location for up to 1 hour in DMs, whether in a one-to-one chat or a group chat.
This feature is turned off by default for obvious reasons.
But if users need it, they can choose when to share it, and to whom they wish to share it. When users choose to share their location to a specific person, only that person can see their location.
"When sharing, only those in the specific chat can see your location and your location can’t be forwarded to other chats," explained Meta.
This ability will expire after 1 hour, and users can see an indicator at the top of their chat to remind them of this.
Users can stop sharing their location at any time.
Initially, this feature is released in only select countries.