Instagram launched Direct in 2013 as a way to share images directly with specific people or groups of people as opposed to all of your followers. On Tuesday, Instagram announced a couple of improvements to it – the ability to send content via Direct directly from your feed and threaded messages.

The latter simply makes having conversations on Instagram easier. Messages stay threaded so you can go back and forth with people you talk to frequently.

“Instead of creating a new conversation every time you send a photo or video, your threads are based on the people in them — and your moments flow along naturally,” explains Instagram in a blog post. “We’ve also added the ability to name your groups, a quick camera feature to respond with a selfie on the fly, and larger-than-life emoji for when there are just no words.”

To share images and videos from your feed via Direct, just click on the new re-share arrow next to the like and comment icons. It will appear in the top right-hand corner of location and hashtag pages.

“Privacy works the same way as it always has on Instagram,” the company notes. “Photos and videos sent using Direct are only visible to people who could already see them. If the owner of a photo or video has their account set to private, only people who follow their account will be able to see it if it’s sent as a message in Direct. And, as always, you own your photos and videos — today’s updates do not change that.”

According to the company, over 85 million people use Instagram Direct each month.

Last week, Instagram announced the ability to upload images in portrait and landscape formats, no longer making users conform to the square imagery that the service is known for.

As Instagram starts to see a greater number of ads, both the new format availability and the ability for users to DM content to other users should be welcome additions to those trying to get more out of their Instagram advertising efforts.

Image via Instagram