In a raft of new updates, Facebook is really looking to make the most of being the parent company of both Facebook’s own and Instagram’s chat channels, and though the biggest one is certainly shared group chats across both platforms, here’s what else is new!
It’s been coming
The first merge took place last year, with cross-app messaging between Messenger and Instagram, and people seem to have taken to it quite well. Issuing a company statement to describe the new features, Facebook revealed how “over 70% of eligible people on Instagram have updated to the new Messenger experience”.
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The next logical step would then be entire group cross-app communication. Starting group chats between Insta and Messenger contacts is pretty cool, but you can further customize the chat experience with chat themes and custom reactions as is already possible on Messenger.
Polls have also been added to Instagram DMs and group chats with friends across Messenger and Instagram. So, when you’re all trying to decide where to go next, or what show needs watching (more on this below), it’s easier to put things to a vote without the need to endlessly scroll through messages to see what’s happening!
Increasing self-expression & shared tools
The contents of each chat have the potential to be very personal to each individual user, which is why each one has the possibility of being uniquely themed depending on the user’s mood. To that effect, more expressive themes have been added to both Insta DMs and Facebook Messenger.
From the Gen-Z-led Cottagecore, which is more fairy-tale-like (think The Shire, but with rabbits) to a dreamy chat theme inspired by J Balvin’s new album artwork, there’s plenty to choose from. But, there’s one more thing…
Watch Together was also launched last year, which allowed users to simultaneously watch Facebook videos together on Messenger and Instagram. Now, the feature has been extended to Instagram Feed, so you can bond with your buds just as though you were side by side! Simply start a video chat within Instagram, scroll to the post you want to share, then click on the share button and Watch Together!
