People don’t really use Instagram on their PCs. The platform is clearly aimed at mobile users, with a relatively sparse desktop UI and small images given the large amount of desktop real estate. Worse, Instagram tends to add new features to the web version months after it hits the mobile app. Heck, you still can’t even upload images from a PC.
Still, slowly but surely the web app is becoming more useful. Case in point: Instagram appears to be working on adding DM’s to the web UI.
The potential new feature was spotted by developer Jane Manchun Wong who is known for diving deep into code to find hidden upcoming features.
I managed to get the rest of Instagram Direct for desktop web to show up pic.twitter.com/oN7N2He6Eh
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) October 9, 2019
Wong notes that conversations are listed on a sidebar in an interface akin to Facebook Messenger’s. Mark Zuckerberg has already announced he plans to allow you to communicate between Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp down the road – to the chagrin of German regulators – so it’s not surprising the apps would share a similar UI.
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On Instagram Direct for desktop web, thread info becomes a sidebar just like Messenger for desktop web pic.twitter.com/OJH61aoCqU
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) October 9, 2019
For heavy Instagram users, particularly influences and those running business accounts, the feature could be a godsend. Responding to a few messages on your phone is okay, but dozens or hundreds of them is not quite so fun. You need a proper keyboard for that.
Now if only Instagram would allow me to upload images from the desktop, it might just become a proper photography platform. A man can dream.
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