Is Instagram Greedy? 7 New Features the Social Media App Just Introduced

By Mara Anton

Posted on April 1, 2022

Instagram is either getting greedy or getting desperate. During their recent app update, it introduced no less than new 7 features in the hopes of making users come back and back… and back.

Unlike their earlier shift back to a chronological feed, these updates have nothing to do with the content relayed on the app but the DM section.

All the features are meant to help with the chat area of Instagram, empowering users to communicate better and in a richer way.

Here are all the new things you’ll be able to send your friends in a direct message:

1. Polls. In group messages, you will be able to ask your friends’ opinions on where to meet, eat or what to buy next. This is a well-known Messenger feature that’s just been transferred to the other app in the Meta portfolio.

2. Music previews. Hear a song you’re absolutely crazy about? Soon, you’ll be able to share a 30-second preview of it in a DM, whether you do it from Apple Music, Amazon Music or Spotify. Not only that, but the other person will be able to listen to it in chat.

3. Quick reshares. By tapping and holding the share button, you will get to share a meme, tutorial or whatever else got your attention in a DM, faster.

4. Replies without losing your feed. If you have to reply fast but don’t want to lose what you were about to watch in your Feed, now you won’t need to.

5. @silent tags. These come in handy if you want to send a message that’s not urgent and doesn’t need a notification attached to it.

6. Lo-fi theme “to make your conversations more personal.”

7. Online statuses. If you hate waiting for a reply as the other person is not on Instagram currently, then the ability to see if they’re online should save you some time and headaches.

As you’re used to by now, not all features will be available to everyone from the get-go. For example, music sharing, chat themes, and quick-send features will work just for those users who are DM-ing on an upgraded version of messaging that Instagram introduced in 2020.

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