Facebook is rolling out several new features to improve the messaging experience on Instagram and Messenger. Not only will you now be able to use the Watch Together feature on Instagram, but you’ll also be able to personalize your chats on both platforms, as well as try out vanish mode.
Watch Together Comes to Instagram
Facebook unveiled its Watch Together feature for Messenger in September 2020, and now it’s coming to Instagram as well. The platform announced this change (and much more) in an About Instagram blog post.
If you don’t already know, Watch Together lets you tune into Facebook Watch videos while video chatting with your friends.
To promote the launch of Watch Together on Instagram, Facebook announced two original series that are exclusive to Watch Together on Instagram and Messenger: Post Malone’s Celebrity World Pong League and Here for It With Avani Gregg.
To watch these series, you’ll have to start a Watch Together session with your friends on either Messenger or Instagram. From there, select the TV & Movies tab to check out the new shows.
Grab the New BTS Messaging Experience
If you ever thought your messaging interface on Instagram and Messenger looked too boring, now you can change that. Facebook is launching new themes that you can use to personalize your chats.
One theme, called TinyTAN, will overhaul your messaging experience. TinyTAN are characters modeled after the members of the popular k-pop group, BTS, and will transform your conversations.
The TinyTAN theme will let you share songs from BTS’s new album, customize your reactions, as well as send purple heart emojis. To activate this theme, head to your chat settings in Instagram or Messenger, and tap Themes > TinyTAN.
Vanish Mode Finally Reaches Instagram
Facebook has been slowly rolling out vanishing messages for Messenger, and this feature is now coming to Instagram.
You can enable vanish mode on both apps by swiping up on your screen. After that, any message you send will disappear after it’s seen. Vanish mode isn’t available globally for both Instagram and Messenger just yet, but Facebook promises it will expand its reach soon.
The Instagram-Messenger Merge Takes Off
Facebook’s Instagram-Messenger merge is off to a running start. When Facebook first began implementing the integration, we weren’t sure what to expect.
So far, it seems like the merge is for the best, as it has transformed Instagram’s plain messaging feature into a full-bodied service that you actually want to use.
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