Instagram Begins Testing Web Version of Direct Messaging – DM

Have you ever dreamed of responding to Instagram DMs on the web? like talking with your customers without having to install any other Apps? Guess what, most Instagram business owners have had this thought one way or the other.

As a business owner, responding to your DMs is a critical aspect of your business values, if people are not able to reach you, they will definitely find help elsewhere.

On Tuesday January 14^th, Instagram officially announced that it has started testing DMs on the web so users can begin to look forward to responding to Instagram DMs on the web without pulling out their phone or installing any additional apps.  

The direct messaging experience will be essentially the same through the browser as it is on mobile.

You can create new groups or start a chat with someone either from the DM screen or a profile page; you can also double-tap to like a message, share photos from the desktop, and see the total number of unread messages you have.

Related article; 10 Important Instagram tips to implement in 2020 that will not cost you a dime

This is a fascinating news for Instagram users as we sometimes want to quickly work on the web without having to pick up our mobile phones just to check and respond to messages.

How will this benefit brands?

Responding to DMs on the web is especially exciting for business owners.

The addition could have specific benefits for those looking to use Instagram Direct for customer service queries, enabling easier integration into your broader social media workflow.

Also, most people prefer the comfort of typing on the full-scale desktop keyboard rather than struggling to avoid mistakes on the small mobile device keypads.

In addition, you’ll be able to receive desktop DM notifications if you enable notifications for the entire Instagram site in your browser. Instagram says it’ll “continue to iterate” on this during the test.

Albeit, be reminded that Facebook is still working on connecting it’s messaging apps, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, into one interconnected system where users can seamlessly communicate with other users on different apps without having to log in and out of different apps.

Bringing DMs to the web could be an attempt towards achieving that goal.

Again, only a small percentage of users will be able to access their Insta DMs via the web version at this stage, but it looks likely to be on its way to all users in the near future.