You can finally edit your Instagram DMs

Message editing, chat pinning, read receipt customization, and sticker-saving — here are the new features sliding into your DMs.
By Christianna Silva  on 
A photo of someone's Instagram DMs
You have up to 15 minutes to edit a DM. Credit: Meta

New changes are coming to DMs on Instagram, closing the gap between Meta and iMessage.

Meta announced on Monday three key changes for Instagram DMs that actually seem pretty nice: editing messages, pinning messages, changing your read receipts, and more abilities with regards to stickers.

You can now edit a message up to 15 minutes after you send it, to correct a typo or add some additional context or any other reason. Making the edit is pretty similar to how you might make an edit to a text on iMessage: simply press and hold the sent message and choose "edit" from the dropdown menu. The word "Edited" will appear above the message, but the other user won't be able to see the original message you edited. This is already launched, so you can give it a shot any time.

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You'll be able to pin up to three group or one on one chats to the top of your inbox, too. This is similar to your favorite contacts in iMessage. To move a chat to the top, swipe left or tap and hold the chat. Then tap "pin." You can't do this just yet, but Meta said it will be available "soon."

Right now, you can change if your read receipts are on or off for an individual chat — a feature launched just a few months ago. To turn off read receipts, go to "settings and privacy," scroll down to "messages and story replies," then click "show read receipts," and toggle that on or off. Finally, you can save your favorite stickers by pressing and holding on a sticker to save it, making it easier to find. 

While some of these changes are just Instagram copying iMessage, I can't say I'm mad.

Topics Instagram Meta

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Christianna Silva
Senior Culture Reporter

Christianna Silva is a Senior Culture Reporter at Mashable. They write about tech and digital culture, with a focus on Facebook and Instagram. Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow them on Twitter @christianna_j.


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