Instagram brings Facebook Messenger into your DMs

Like it or not, Facebook Messenger might soon find its way into your Instagram DMs. Instagram has announced integration with Messenger, letting you carry on some conversations without having to switch apps.

Any messages and calls from other Instagram users will stay in Instagram. This isn’t merging your Facebook and Instagram accounts. If you enable the connection, however, you can start conversations with Messenger friends or receive their messages. You can specify where those messages come in (if they do at all), such as through your regular Instagram DM chats or message requests.

You’ll get some Messenger features in Instagram, too. You can reply to specific messages, forward them, and customize your chat appearance. Custom emoji reactions are available now. In the future, you’ll see message effects, Watch Together experiences (including for IGTV and Reels), optional disappearing messages, and selfie stickers.

The feature is currently available in “a few countries,” but should expand soon. The integration is optional, at least for now — you’ll get a prompt where you can turn it down. The technology has been in testing since the summer.

See also: The best chat and messenger apps for Android

Instagram characterized the link as eliminating confusion. A third of Americans sometimes find it difficult to remember where to find a given conversation, according to the social network’s research. We’d add that this is part of a well-established Facebook plan to shift to a more private and unified system where chats take precedence over shared posts.

Even so, there’s little doubt this could serve as a defensive tool for Facebook. You may be less likely to drop Instagram or Facebook Messenger if you know DMs from one will show in the other — it’ll be that much more important to your digital life.  You may be less likely to turn to Snapchat, Telegram, or other