Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Instagram will now let you schedule direct messages, as first reported by TechCrunch. With this feature, you can long-press on the “send” button and then choose a date and time that you’d like to send your message.
As noted on Instagram’s support page, you can schedule messages containing only text, meaning you can still only send photos, videos, or GIFs to friends or family members in real-time. When you click on a chat with a scheduled message, Instagram will display a notice that shows how many messages you have scheduled.
Screenshot: The Verge
Tapping into the notice and long-pressing your message also gives you the option to delete it or send it right away. Right now, it looks like you can only schedule a message as far out as 29 days.
The company has added several features as part of its efforts to build out its DMs, including a way to edit messages, draw on photos, and share your live locations with friends, similar to Snapchat.