Instagram is feeling a little less instant – but the social media giant’s latest scheduling feature could still be a welcome change for some users on the photo-centric platform. Instagram now enables users to schedule DMs, or direct messages. The feature, announced on February 19, comes with a handful of other updates for Instagram’s messaging tool.
Instagram added scheduling capability for creator and business accounts at the end of 2022, a move that was a welcome change for many photographers. Now, users can also schedule their DMs to send at a specific time. Meta shared a few examples of why the tool may be useful, like sending a friend a happy birthday message at 12:01 or automatically sending somebody a reminder.
To use the new scheduling feature in DMs, users will need to type out the message – but then tap and hold on the send button, rather than the usual single tap. The app will then bring up the options to choose the date and time to send out the message. Meta notes that the time is in the sender’s timezone, not the recipient's.
While the Insta in the name has always honored Instagram’s instant sharing ethos, many photographers welcomed the addition of the ability to schedule posts on Instagram. Scheduling posts enables creatives to plan out their posts in one sitting – which can potentially free up more time for actual photography.
The ability to schedule DMs comes alongside a handful of new additions to Instagram’s messaging tool. Photographers using group messaging can now create a QR code to easily invite others into the chat. To generate a QR code, tap the name of the group chat, then tap the invite link and select the QR code option.
The Instagram DM updates also include the ability to send a song to friends, translate other languages within the chat, and the ability to pin a post to the top of the chat window. The updates began rolling out on February 19.
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