Facebook is currently pushing ahead with its strategy to consolidate more of the backend of its apps on to just one platform.
But the social media giant is doing more than that – they are also doing a little cleaning.
Direct shuts down in June
The TechCrunch online publication has just reported that in June, Instagram will be shutting down Direct which is the standalone Instagram messaging app that it has been testing to be a rival to Snapchat on both Android and iOS.
Facebook and the Instagram team will be channeling all the activity and various developments into the direct messaging feature of the main app, Instagram, according to the same online magazine mentioned above.
TechCrunch wrote that they first saw the message about the app closing down on Twitter from the Direct user, Matt Navarra.
“In the coming month, we’ll no longer be supporting the Direct app,” Instagram noted in the app itself.
They continued and said, “Your conversations will automatically move over to Instagram, so you don’t need to do anything.”
The details have also been then confirmed to TechCrunch by Instagram itself:
Instagram is already killing its standalone Direct messaging app? @mosseri ? pic.twitter.com/sr0c90PzEc
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) May 15, 2019
“We’re rolling back the test of the standalone Direct app,” a spokesperson stated. “We’re focused on continuing to make Instagram Direct the best place for fun conversations with your friends.”
It was also reported that Instagram will continue to develop Direct features with the mention that they will not be live in a standalone application.
No apparent explanation for the shutting down decision
Instagram did not explain this decision. TechCrunch notes that the app appeared back in December 2017.
Instagram first launched direct messaging in its main app back in 2013.
“We want Instagram to be a place for all of your moments, and private sharing with close friends is a big part of that,” the Instagram team said back then. “To make it easier and more fun for people to connect in this way, we are beginning to test Direct – a camera-first app that connects seamlessly back to Instagram.”
Most likely, the shallow usage might have killed the Direct app.
After finishing Theatrical Journalism at the Faculty of Theatre and Television in Cluj-Napoca, Rada reviewed movies, books, theatre pieces and she also wrote articles from the IT niche as a content editor for software producers. At the moment, she is working with various online advertising firms.
