After WhatsApp, Instagram now also has a blue check mark so that you can check whether someone has read your message. The addition is part of a major update to Insta and Messenger. These are the four new features.
Instagram gets a blue checkmark and 3 more new features
The updates will roll out immediately. It may take a few days before you have the new version of Instagram and/or Facebook Messenger on your phone, because the rollout is happening in phases.
1. Blue check mark for Instagram
One loves it, the other always has it off. WhatsApp’s well-known (and perhaps infamous) blue tick is making the switch to Instagram. This checkmark shows whether the other person has read your message. It is not yet clear whether you can also turn off the blue check mark for Instagram.
2. Easier to record voice messages
The success of audio apps such as Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces has not gone unnoticed by Facebook. In times of working from home and little social contact, the need to ‘really’ talk to each other is greater than ever.
From now on you can therefore send audio messages in Messenger by pressing the record button once. Previously, you had to hold this button for as long as you wanted to talk. The Instagram app will also get this audio button soon.
Also cool: from now on you can respond to DMs in Instagram with a photo or video. Simply tap the camera icon to share a personal picture or video.
3. Inbox Zero
Do you prefer an inbox that is as clean as possible? You can now swipe DMs on Facebook Messenger to archive them. The conversations are not deleted, but archived. You can find the archive of conversations by pressing your profile icon and then going to ‘Archived chats’.
4. Attention Star Wars fans
Now you can choose two new themes in Facebook Messenger and Instagram: Star Wars and Selena: The Series. Once you have activated the theme, your chat window will have a different look, completely in the style of the movies or series. Go to Messenger or Insta settings and tap “Theme” to pick your favorite.