Instagram announces Instagram Direct for private photo

At an event in New York City today, Instagram announced Instagram Direct, a new messaging feature available today for iOS and Android that lets users send text, video, and photo messages to each other privately. "Communication is not about photography, necessarily," said CEO Kevin Systrom. "If we were about photography we'd be built into cameras, but we're not, we're built into phones." Instagram up to this point focused on photos and videos — "moments" — as Instagram calls them. Messaging adds a third dimension to the app that lets people communicate using words, Systrom says, but more importantly to do so privately, if you'd like. "Sometimes you want to be able to share not with everyone, but just with a specific group," he said.

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