One of Instagram‘s simplest products is becoming a major area of emphasis. The app’s direct messages have received approximately 20 new features in recent months, and Instagram Head Adam Mosseri recently said his team is “doubling down” on DMs in 2025.
Business Insider‘s catalog of updates shows a timeline that begins last March, when Instagram added new editing tools (like pinned messages) and announced cosmetic updates (e.g. new chat themes) for its DMs. A steady stream of innovations arrived in the ensuing months; Instagram messages added everything from longer voice memos to AI-powered chats.
Despite Instagram’s overt focus on photos and short-form videos, its DMs have become a cultural touchstone and a primary form of communication for the app’s users. Mosseri acknowledged the format’s staying power last year, when he suggested that Instagram might move its DM icon to make it more prominent on the app’s home screen.
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“When you think of Instagram, you probably think of a feed of square photos, but how Instagram works has changed a lot over the years,” Mosseri said. “And if you look at what people share, how people express their creativity, the primary way they do so is actually DMs on Instagram.”
If DMs have long been favored by Instagram users, why has the Meta-owed platform waited so long to update them? One potential explanation concerns Reels. The TikTok-like format has sucked up a lot of Instagram’s resources lately, especially as the app debuts new features and financial incentives to woo TikTokers who would be displaced by a potential U.S. ban. But with Reels potentially splitting off onto its own platform, Instagram could be looking to build up its other in-app experiences.
Trends in the creator economy may also be a factor here. Patreon’s recent “State of Create” report predicted that, in the coming years, creators will profit more from direct fan relationships than on-platform engagement. To get in front of that shift, Instagram is prioritizing the product that drives the lion’s share of its in-app conversations. Shopping features and two-way interactions are two DM updates that have made the format a more promising space for creators.
The humble DM may not immediately jump out as the next frontier in digital media, but Instagrammers will have plenty of reasons to try out the improved messages. The app seems to reward those who experiment with its new products, so creators would be wise to slide into their DMs and see what’s new.
