If you are an Instagram user, you must be aware that with the advent of stories in Instagram, they also introduced disappearing messages; one that disappears forever after the other person has seen it. However cool it sounds, it was really confusing to use the disappearing messages. Although, the direct message section showed the sent and received disappearing messages at the top in the form of circular heads, it only had the option to send normal permanent messages. Something like this:
And to send disappearing messages, earlier one had to open the Story camera, take a picture, decorate it and instead of sending it to the story, send it to the person. The Message section lacked the feature to send disappearing messages. The “New Message” at the bottom only allowed you to send the permanent message.
Also read: Instagram tips and tricks for beginners
But thanks to the latest update 10.16 of Instagram, they have combined the disappearing messages and permanent messages into one thread. Meaning, you can now send disappearing messages from the Direct Message section as well, in addition to sending it from the Story camera. Moreover, they have removed the circular profiles from the top in the message section. You will now get both the disappearing messages and the permanent message in one single thread.
To send disappearing messages, just tap the blue “camera” icon at the bottom of the direct message section. If, however, you want to send disappearing messages while chatting, there is an option for that as well. Tap the blue camera icon at the bottom left corner in the individual message thread. Also, when you receive a disappearing message, the profile name of the sender is shown in blue color in the message section indicating it’s a disappearing message.
Also read: Facebook Stories: 7 tips and tricks you should use
And with the latest update, you can now view the received disappearing messages twice (earlier it was available only once) similar to Facebook direct, introduced recently. You will now get an option “Play Again” to replay the message. But remember if you view it again, the sender will be notified that you have “replayed” the message.
Accompanying the said changes, the latest update brings the annoying “screenshot” feature for disappearing messages. Whenever you take the screenshot of the disappearing messages, the sender is notified about the same. However, thankfully, the screenshot feature is only for disappearing messages and not for permanent messages or your stories.
In case you are wondering about the permanent messages, nothing has changed about them. You can start a new conversation by tapping the plus icon at the top right corner of the message section.
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How do you feel about the latest update? Let us know in the comments below.
