Instagram reportedly working on animated emojis for DMs

Instagram is reportedly working to spice up things for those who use its direct messaging feature. The Meta-owned company is working on animated emojis for DMs, according to leaker and reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi who has a history of spilling beans about underdevelopment features.

While there is no official word about animated emojis from Instagram, the leaker posted a couple of images on his X account to show how the feature might look in action. As per the images, you will be able to send animated emojis in the chat window as standalone messages or with some accompanying text.

"Yes, it's a bit laggy, but it will surely be improved before the official release, if it ever gets released," the leaker added. With that said, it should be taken with a grain of salt as not all underdevelopment features make it to the stable release. As of now, you can send animated stickers and GIFs as direct messages if you don't like static emojis.

However, support for animated emojis will bring Instagram in line with Telegram, which introduced the feature back in 2019. Telegram also allows its premium users to upload custom animated emoji packs with unique art styles and characters.

Instagram isn't the only Meta-owned app to explore animated emojis. There have been reports that WhatsApp was also working on animated emojis for its instant messaging app. Speaking of which, WhatsApp has added support for animated stickers that are available as downloadable sticker packs within the app.

In recent news, Instagram launched a new generative AI editing tool in the US and a feature to create Story templates others can use. Its parent company Meta is in hot water over allegations of promoting accounts of child predators.

Instagram users can now download Reels uploaded by creators and public accounts. They can also share Posts and Reels exclusively with their Close Friends list. The social media giant is testing multiple audience lists for Stories, collaborative carousel posts, and the ability to turn off read receipts.