2025-03-05T21:39:56Z Read in app Adam Mosseri is Instagram's top exec and says the platform is doubling down on DMs. Courtesy of Meta This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Instagram has been beefing up DMs with over 20 updates in recent months, with many focused on AI.Top exec Adam Mosseri said Instagram is "doubling down" on DMs in 2025.We made a chart breaking down all the recent changes at the Meta-owned platform.Instagram has been very busy building new tools for its direct messaging products.In the past year, the Meta-owned platform has rolled out more than 20 updates to DMs, ranging from AI chatbots to new ways to share music with friends.Why is Instagram so busy in the DMs? It's become the primary social interaction on the app."When you think of Instagram, you probably think of a feed of square photos, but how Instagram works has changed a lot over the years," Adam Mosseri, Instagram's top executive, said last year. "And if you look at what people share, how people express their creativity, the primary way they do so is actually DMs on Instagram."In March 2024, Instagram announced a handful of new messaging features, including the ability to edit messages after they'd been sent and turn on or off read receipts.The following months were filled with various updates to Instagram DMs. Several months saw new AI feature rollouts, like a suite of user-made AI characters in July and AI-generated DM themes in September.Instagram also confirmed via a Threads post from Mosseri that it was testing moving its DM button, typically seen at the top right of the app, to the main navigation bar in November.To top it all off, at the start of 2025, Mosseri said it would be "doubling down" on messaging as it focused on two core priorities for the new year creativity and connection.Business Insider compiled all of the updates Instagram has made to messaging since last March to help you keep track.Here's a chart breaking down each feature and when it launched:Editing messagesAbility to pin chats to inboxTurning on/off read receiptsNew chat themesMeta launches AI Studio for Instagram DMsAbility to ask Meta AI questions in DMs and to imagine and animate photosCustom AI chat themesCutout sticker in DMsDraw doodles, add text, and edit gallery sends in DMs"Imagine" self-portraits with AI in DMsLonger voice messages in DMs (up to five minutes)New sticker packs (more than 300 additions)NicknamesLocation sharingInstagram confirms it is testing moving the DM button to the main navigation barInstagram Broadcast Channels get more social features (replies, prompts, insights, and best practices)High-definition images in DMsAbility to @mention a group chat in Reels/Feed commentsScheduling messagesMusic stickers in DMsTranslating messagesAbility to pin messages in chatsAIs in group chatsQR codes for group chats and Instagram Broadcast Channels