In a bid to promote Stories and direct messaging, Instagram is introducing a new feature that will let users start private group messages around specific Stories.
The new features called chat sticker lets people ask their followers to join a new group chat and then gives the poster the power to select who can join.
Introducing the new chat sticker in Stories. Now, there’s an easy way to start conversations with a group of friends right from your story. pic.twitter.com/A1An7d9TjJ
— Instagram (@instagram) July 2, 2019
If followers tap the sticker, they’ll be added to a private group chat — though the author will have the ability to approve or deny requests.
The chat sticker, joins a bunch of other stickers Instagram has introduced to Stories, including polls, question boxes, mentions, locations, hashtags, and countdowns, among others.
If someone places a chat sticker on their story, friends can tap the sticker to request access to the chat. The original poster can then choose who they want to include in the new chat, which will take place in their direct messages inbox. They can then end that chat at any time.
Instagram is promoting the chat sticker as a new way to connect with friends, and while Instagram may have killed plans for a dedicated Direct messaging app, it’s clear that both DMs and Stories are important to the platform.