Instagram could be set to introduce a video calling option to users of its social network. The Direct Message feature within Instagram has seen a significant overhaul over the course of the past twelve months, with the introduction of disappearing photos, the ability to share Stories with other users, and an overall streamlining of its design. According to WABetaInfo, though, the Facebook-owned social network could be set to further improve the messaging experience with the introduction of video calling in the near future.
As part of the new feature, those who use the Direct Message system will be able to call the people they follow whenever they wish, the only requirement being that any chat requests be accepted prior to this. Once chat requests are accepted, a new icon will appear near the top right corner of the interface, next to the chat details button. Currently, though, there is no information about the look of the in-call user interface. The launch of the feature is expected to improve engagement between users as the current Direct Message platform is limited to sharing individual posts, Stories, and images or videos from a device’s gallery. However, it’s worth pointing out that this feature was found inside an internal build of the Instagram app and, when approached by TechCrunch regarding the feature, the social network declined to comment. Furthermore, because the feature looks to be in early development, Instagram could potentially opt to scrap it altogether instead of making it public. For now, though, the launch of the feature is expected to happen sometime this year on both Android and iOS devices across the globe.
The development of video calling comes shortly after the introduction of a new Status indicator inside Direct Messages, showing which users are online, and how long ago others were active, something that could prove helpful to users wanting to communicate with friends or family via video calling. For now, though, It’ll remain to be seen how the development of the feature progresses over time, but considering Instagram‘s support for Live Videos, it shouldn’t be too surprising to see the eventual introduction of video calling to the social network inside Direct Messaging.