Instagram Now Lets You Send Direct Messages (DMs) From The Web

Published Date : Jan 19, 2020

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Instagram’s web version is now going to facilitate direct messaging for all users soon. This will be beneficial for Instagrammers who can now send direct messages to their customers, friends, and acquaintances from the web browser of their Instagram account. At the moment it is accessible by a handful of users around the globe but is expected to roll out for all Instagrammers on a wider scale soon.

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri responded in an official tweet, “We have initiated our testing of Direct Messaging on the web-based platform.”

He also said that Instagram has been trying to integrate direct messaging feature on its desktop website for a very long time; however, it has now become possible to roll out the DM feature to some users.

Instagram has already completed the initial round of testing. The DM feature will provide a huge boon to influencers, business pages and other professionals who use the platform to promote their art, business and other forms of social activities.

The direct messaging feature will be quite similar to the one available on the mobile platform. It can be used to message someone privately or to initiate a group chat. It will also enable users to like a message, share images, etc. Conversations can be started either from the DM screen or from the profile page.

Further, users will also be able to receive DM notifications on the computer if notifications are enabled for Instagram on your web browser. However, there is a limitation on the web platform at the moment which will prevent users from making audio/video calls and also send GIFs or voice messages.

The vision to integrate Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram messaging irrespective of the platform which the user is utilizing to send messages has been under consideration for quite some time now.

Instagram is at the moment concentrating on improving its performance and utility on the browser platform. It has already started facilitating the story feature on the web platform.

The present design looks like a Direct arrow icon which is located at the top right corner of the screen. It seems at the moment that the DM feature will be utilizing the Instagram.com/direct/….URL structure.

If you are still not able to access the DM feature of Instagram on the web version, then you can try out the following fix:

You can open your Instagram account on your desktop browser.
Further, click right and then click on the Inspect Element option.
Alternatively, you can also press ‘Ctrl+Shift+C’ together to go to the developer tools.
Finally, you can hit on the Toggle Device Toolbar segment situated on the top right.
Here, you need to choose either iPhone X or Pixel 2 XL as your dedicated device.
Once you refresh your page, Instagram’s mobile version will then open on the web browser and you can start using the DM feature instantly from your computer.

Once the final round of testing is complete, it will be made available to all users and Instagrammers won’t anymore need to depend on third-party apps or other hacks to avail the feature of DM from their desktops or laptops.

Snigdha

Snigdha is a technical content writer with expertise in the field of science & technology. Though she has a very diverse academic and professional profile yet she finds writing to be a creative form that she was unable to explore so far. When not writing, she can be found indulging in other forms of creativity like painting or travelling.