You'll soon be able to change the color of your Instagram direct messages — here's how

Instagram just announced a slew of new features that will make Messenger a more expressive way to communicate. With chat themes on Instagram Messenger, you can choose from a variety of color gradients to add atmosphere to your messages.

The changes are part of Instagram's latest revamp, which links your IG DMs with Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. In addition to changing the color of your chats, you can also turn on Vanish Mode to disappear conversations, use selfie stickers, and more. "The main change is that people using the Messenger app can now contact you on Instagram without having to download a new app, and vice versa," the company shared in a blog post. "You can also control the messages you receive. and location of the call, such as in a chat, in a message request, or not received at all."

To give your message a topic, just click the information icon in the upper right corner of the chat window. Under chat settings you will see topics. Click this button and scroll to choose colors and combinations to instantly change the look of your message. The default theme you're already using is a mix of purple and blue, which you can return to at any time. But basic blue bubbles are yesterday.

You can change your custom theme as many times as you like, and others in the conversation will see the changes reflected not only in your most recent messages, but also in your message history.

Instagram

The topic you choose for one conversation doesn't affect the topics of other conversations, so you can also use topics to organize your chats. The "pride" of friends, the "sushi" of lovers, the "classic" of business, and the "ocean" of family. Or use color themes to express your mood. "Rose" is for flirting, "Tropical" is for casual meme banter, and "Lavender" is for calm late-night chats. There are no rules.

Instagram is testing these features in select countries and will be rolling out globally soon, so if you don't see the option after updating the app, be patient - you'll be able to access all chat topics soon .