Instagram is testing Direct on Web pic.twitter.com/bpdY9bep24
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) February 12, 2019
Currently, the desktop version of Instagram is a watered down version of the application, with the inability to share stories and without providing users with a way to send direct messages.
Browser notification support was added only last September. Some features, such as the ability to upload stories, are restricted to the mobile app and mobile web only. Instagram has said it has “no plans to let users upload photos or stories from the desktop.”
There are multiple reasons why this shift to the web could be happening now. Instagram has built a standalone messaging app called Direct, which it began testing in six countries in 2017, and the move to the desktop could be a sign that messaging has taken on increased importance to the Instagram team.
