Instagram tests a stand-alone application for direct messaging

Instagram has changed a lot since it was acquired by Facebook in 2012.

The original premise was so simple. Beautify your photo and share it with your friends in a few clicks. Like photos of your friends with a simple scroll and a double click.

Now, Instagram has videos and gifs (Boomerang). He has his own set of superstars and an algorithmic flow that helps these superstars to dominate the flow of users, including mine. And he has a direct messaging system.

Today, Instagram is testing yet another change with the launch of a stand-alone Instagram Direct app. At the moment, the application is only available in Uruguay, Chile, Turkey, Italy, Portugal and Israel.

Instagram had this to say about the test:

We want Instagram to be a place for all your moments, and private sharing with close friends is a big part of that. To make it easier and easier for people to connect in this way, we are starting to test Direct, an application that connects directly to Instagram.

The application will allow you to create and share stories, and give you access to exclusive filters, Boomerang and other creative tools on Instagram. And, of course, your Instagram friends are instantly added to the Instagram Direct app.

This raises the question: why build a separate application for things already available and functional in Instagram? The most obvious answer is that it is yet another dam in the assault of Instagram on Snapchat.

And it worked. In January, TechCrunch reported that the launch of Instagram Stories had resulted in a decline in the use of Snapchat Stories. The launch of Instagram Direct, with its perception of more private and intimate private conversations, could have the same effect on Snapchat's direct messaging.

The only specifics we have, if you can even qualify them as specific, are that the application will be launched globally next year after Instagram will have solved the bugs and responded to the comments of the users.

Featured image: Bloomberg / Getty Images