Instagram Threads is introducing users’ most-requested feature: direct messaging, with which they do not have to switch to Instagram to send messages. Direct messages will be available globally starting on Tuesday, alongside a new visual element called highlighter, which will highlight interesting perspectives and conversations, starting with trending topics.
DMs will support one-on-one chats, preset emoji reactions, spam reporting, and muting DMs. Other features, like group messaging, inbox filters, and advanced message controls, will be released later.
Currently, users cannot block a follower or mutual from messaging them, but can only block them on Threads, which will also block them on Instagram. DMs will be available for users 18 and up in most markets, except for Japan, Australia, the U.K., and the EU.
Threads’ addition of DMs makes it more competitive with other text-first social apps like X and Bluesky, where users can engage directly or in group chats. However, while X is working on encrypted direct messages within X Chat, Threads has no intention of tightly securing its private messaging feature.
Threads VP of Product Emily Dalton Smith clarified that the company is not encrypting its direct messages (DMs), but rather focusing on connecting directly with users about current events. DMs are meant to build on the community created in the public space on Threads, a network that is different from its parent app, Instagram.
Meta is addressing the growing disconnect between Instagram and Threads by testing alternative ways for users to use the platform without an Instagram account. This includes enabling users to log in with their Facebook account or create a Threads-only account, and also allowing users to use Threads from the web without being logged in.
Over time, Threads could highlight perspectives from users or active conversations that you might want to jump into. Meta has no plans to monetize Threads beyond ads, although it has an AI feature that could be integrated into the experience like xAI’s AI chatbot, Grok, used to sell X Premium subscriptions.
The Meta team is focusing on getting ads right and using AI to power background features like trending topics’ headlines and summaries, say TechCrunch.
Threads has 350 million monthly active users, far more than newcomers like Bluesky, which has 37 million registered users. DMs have been tested in Hong Kong, Thailand, Argentina, and Brazil.
