Facebook will close Direct, the application that could be used to send direct messages via Instagram, without having to open the main app. Direct will be closed in the coming months and conversations will be transferred to the traditional Instagram application, which has already had its own section for messages for some time. Direct was released in late 2017 and was an attempt by Facebook to mimic certain Snapchat features, but never met with particular success. The company had promised to spread it to all countries, but the experiment was then confined to some geographical areas, including Italy. Facebook has in recent months announced ambitious plans to unify messaging systems for Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp, so the decision to close Direct could be part of the reorganization plan. The social network has however communicated the closure of the application without giving official reasons.
