Instagram Rumored To Add Private Messaging By End Of The Year

Instagram is rumored to be close to adding a private messaging feature into its photo-sharing app, and this new feature could be made available as soon as the end of this year. According to Gigaom, “well-placed sources” tell them that the company is gearing up to launch the new private messaging feature inside its ever popular photo-sharing app.

Mashable continued on to say that at this moment, its unclear what the messaging function will look like, “but one could imagine a user might be able to share photos directly with certain friends or groups without needing to post to his public feed.” The app allows users to comment and tag one-another in their post descriptions.

Instagram is known as a visual communication platform, meaning that the app functions around visuals rather then text. With this app, users have the ability to document their lives with the use of images which can not only be uploaded, but can also be edited with a variety of visual filters. With over 200 million users according to Gigaom, it would seem that Instagram is doing something right. Om Malik, from Gigaom, suggests that the timing of this rumored update to the Instagram app is perfect.

“With the holidays around the corner and smartphones as likely hot gift items, many people are going to experience Instagram for the first time and they should perhaps start with a brand new experience.”

Could Instagram’s new private messaging app be an effort to rival against other apps such as snapchat? It could be. Mashable suggests that Instagram isn’t the only application that is emphasizing messaging in their updates. According to their report, Facebook’s standalone messaging app, Messenger, was recently rebuilt for both iOS and Android.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, is it really necessary to add private messaging to an app as successful as Instagram? It will all come down to the user’s experience with the new update. If the app remains the same, just with the added function of direct messaging, user experiences shouldn’t be altered all that much. What do you think of Instagram building in private messaging to their ever popular app?

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