Threads: DM sending arrives on the social network

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Earlier this week, Meta launched messaging on Threads. A "Message" call to action appeared among a panel of users.

How does sending DMs on Threads work?

Bizarre as it is, and even though you'll be able to send messages directly via the Threads app, the messages you send will only appear in your Instagram posts. In other words, when you click on "send a message", the app will redirect you to Instagram. A surprising feature, which leads us to believe that this is only V1, and is likely to evolve rapidly.

Regarding sending messages on Threads, Adam Mosseri explains:

"The Threads app is built on top of the Instagram app. We don't integrate DMs into Threads."

These comments date back to November 2023, and illustrate Threads' determination to keep the link between Meta's two applications intact. In our opinion, the link between the two social networks desired by Meta is not viable in the long term. Theads, which claims 130 million monthly active users, will have to simplify its use as much as possible to meet the needs of its users. And in this context, the referral to Instagram when clicking on "Send a message" makes use more tedious. Users are likely to turn away from sending messages via Threads in favor of other social networks.

Meta: towards a single messaging system?

Since 2019, Meta has been working on a single messaging project. In fact, the group had announced its intention to integrate Messenger, Instagram messaging and WhatsApp into a single platform. If we follow Meta's logic, it wouldn't make sense to create a messaging service on Threads, since it would then have to be inexorably integrated into the single messaging project. Meta doesn't really go into detail about the evolution of its project, so we can't be sure whether or not this single messaging platform will actually see the light of day.