Instagram Gains Direct Message Editing, Pinned Chats and More

Instagram today announced several updates for its direct messaging feature, including message editing and pinned chats. Direct messages sent on Instagram can now be edited for up to 15 minutes after sending.

To edit a message, long press on it and then choose the "Edit" option. Users will see that the content has been edited, and the feature brings Instagram in line with Facebook and with Apple's own iMessage editing feature.

Up to three chats will soon be able to pinned to the top of the message inbox, with support for both group messages and one on one conversations. Swipe left or tap and hold on a chat and choose the "pin" option to pin it to the top of the messaging interface.

Instagram added a new toggle for disabling read receipts, which can be done for all chats or just for certain chats. The account-wide setting can be turned on in the settings section by going to Messages and then story replies.

Along with these updates, Instagram introduced several new themes that can be activated on a per-chat basis, plus there is now an option to save favorite stickers in DMs for quicker access. Pressing and holding on a sticker allows it to be saved.

These new features are rolling out to Instagram users starting today, and it can take some time for the options to be available for everyone.