New update merges Instagram, Facebook Messenger chats

We've known for a while that Facebook plans to allow cross-messaging among Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. And now, it looks like the integration between Instagram and Messenger is live, at least for some users. The Verge reports that a notification has shown up on iOS and Android devices for some of their editors, letting them know that "There's a New Way to Message on Instagram." It listed a few features, including a "new colourful look for your chats," swipe-to-reply, emoji reactions, and "chat with friends who use Facebook."

If you activate the feature, the regular DM icon changes to the Facebook Messenger logo. Chats appear more colourful, with the sender's messages shifting between blue and purple as you scroll. At the moment, it doesn't seem possible to message Facebook users from Instagram. But with the feature now available, we expect that to arrive soon.