What is the name of Instagram's private messaging feature?

Instagram’s private messaging feature is called Instagram Direct. It allows users to exchange private text messages, photos, videos, profiles, locations, posts, and other content inside the Instagram platform.

Instagram announced Direct in December 2013. Before its introduction, Instagram was primarily a public photo-sharing service, so users had no built-in way to send photos privately to individuals or small groups. Initially, a photo could be sent to as many as 15 people.

The feature later gained threaded conversations, message requests, disappearing photos and videos, reactions, links, and web access. In 2020, Instagram began integrating Direct with Facebook Messenger for some users, bringing cross-platform messaging features into the same system. “DM” or “direct message” is the common everyday term, but Instagram Direct is the feature’s canonical name.