Get Ready for 4-Way Group Chat on Instagram

I really love Instagram. Like, a lot. It’s my favorite social media platform. Facebook is a garbage fire, Twitter is full of Nazis, and I missed the Snapchat age limit by a solid 8 years. Snaps are for the youths, let’s be honest. So I use Instagram almost exclusively. And as an avid user, I am simultaneously intrigued and horrified by this latest feature. Insta is rolling out 4-way group chat, so your feed is about to get a lot more interesting.

Move over, Snapchat and FaceTime. Instagram is coming for you with their latest video-call feature!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bkf53CvD49P/?taken-by=instagram

The new feature, available on iOS and Android, will allow up to four friends to video chat through Instagram Direct. Which is a feature other apps have offered for a while, but obviously IG did it one better. Not only can you video chat with your friends, you can actually minimize the call screen and continue browsing IG during the call. You know what this means, right? We can stop screenshotting shit and sending it our friends. Now we can just tell them to head over to someone’s page and discuss/talk shit in real time!

Instagram out here trying to just eliminate the competition. I can respect that.

You can call anyone you can direct message, and the best part is, people on your blocked list can’t call you! The only downside I can see at this point is that there’s no way to turn off the feature to keep randos from calling you. Right now, you can message anyone on the platform, as long as you don’t block them and they don’t block you. The video chat feature is built into messaging, so as far as I can tell, anyone can attempt to video call you.

In addition to the video chat feature, there are a couple of other new things Insta has up their sleeve.

They’re revamping the Explore page, so instead of completely random posts from a bunch of tangentially-related accounts, you’ll see channels that offer related content. They’re also releasing a bunch of camera effects in partnership with creators like Ariana Grande, Buzzfeed, and the NBA. If you follow the accounts, you can see the effects in their stories, and “Try It On” if you spot a friend using it. Finally, Instagram rolled out the life-changing ability to MUTE accounts. You know you have a handful of people who annoy you enough to mute, but not enough to unfollow. The mute button removes their posts and stories from your feed. THANK YOU INSTAGRAM.

Don’t lie: you’re excited about Insta’s new shit, right? In a sea of social media apps, they’re staying ahead of the game. Much appreciated, IG.

(Image: Facebook / Instagram)