Instagram has finally received its most awaited feature: the ability to edit messages. While Meta already allows its WhatsApp users to edit sent messages, Instagram users have been waiting a long time for this useful functionality. Thankfully, Mark Zuckerberg announced the availability of this feature on Monday, along with another soon-to-be-coming WhatsApp-like pin chat feature.
Sharing the new update on the Meta Channel on Instagram, Zuckerberg shared that the new edit feature is finally available, calling it a ‘game changer’. This feature now allows Instagram users to edit their sent messages for up to 15 minutes. Previously, the only way to edit or correct a mistake in a sent Instagram message was through unsending or deleting the entire message.
To edit a sent DM on Instagram, press and hold on the sent message and then choose “edit” from the drop down menu. Just like WhatsApp the edited message will display a small label that says “Edited” below the message to inform both the sender and the receiver that the message has been changed. Although the recipients will not  be able to see edit history.
Along with the edit message, another big update to Instagram DMs, which is coming soon, is the ability to pin chats. Similar to WhatsApp, Instagram will now allow its users to ‘Pin Chats to Top of Inbox’. However, a maximum of three chats will be allowed to pin. “For chats you have with your best friends or family, or simply ones you want at the top of your inbox, soon you’ll be able to pin up to three groups or 1:1 chats for easy access,” reads the official blog post.
While the feature will take a bit of time to roll out to everyone, once available, users will be able to move a chat to the top of their inbox by swiping left or tapping and holding on the chat, then tapping “pin”. Users will also be able to choose to unpin a thread at any time.
But that’s not it. ALong with the edit message and pin chats, Instagram now also offers additional features including:Â
Read Receipts Toggle: Users can choose to enable or disable read receipts for all their chats or specific ones. Here’s how:
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Go to your account settings.
Tap on “Messages and story replies.”
Toggle the “Show read receipts” option to turn it on or off.
You can adjust this setting anytime.
Favourite Stickers and enhanced replies: Instagram users can now conveniently save frequently used stickers in direct messages (DMs). By simply pressing and holding the desired sticker, the stickers will automatically get stored at the top for easy access during subsequent usage.
Enhanced message replies: When replying to messages, users now have an array of options to send, including stickers, GIFs, videos, photos, and voice messages. To use these features, press and hold the message you wish to reply to, select “reply,” and explore the available choices to enhance responses.
Themed Backgrounds for Instagram: Instagram users can now also personalise their chat experience with themed backgrounds.. From the latest themes such as “Love” (soon to be animated), “Lollipop,” to “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” users can select their preferred theme by tapping the chat name at the top, navigating to themes, and choosing from the available options.
Interestingly, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, is increasingly adopting the strategy of bringing similar features across its platforms to increase user engagement, streamline development, and conduct cross-platform promotions.
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For instance, the editing function arrives on Instagram chats only a few months after Meta rolled it out for Messenger. Although cross-platform messaging between Instagram and Messenger hasn’t been possible since December, the two Meta-owned messaging apps continue to share a number of features.
