Twitter has direct messaging. Facebook has Facebook messenger. Instagram has…no equivalent. If you want to say something to another Instagram user, everyone else is going to see it too. As of right now, Instagram has no private messaging function.

That may change by year’s end, according to sources quoted by GigaOm. They say that Instagram is preparing to launch private messaging, and that they are even considering group messaging on the platform.

From GigaOm:

Well-placed sources tell us that the company is gearing up to launch new private messaging features inside its still red-hot photo and video sharing service. It is also experimenting with the idea of group messaging, our source tells us. The new features are likely to find home in the next version of Instagram, which is expected before end of the year. An Instagram spokesperson (not surprisingly) declined to comment.

First reaction: makes perfect sense. Especially considering recent reports that Facebook (who owns Instagram, as you may know) recently tried to buy popular ephemeral messaging service Snapchat for $3 billion.

And when you frame it like that, could you image a private messaging service built into Instagram that took some cues from Snapchat? Remember, Facebook already built something like that earlier this year with the Poke app.

Saying that Instagram private messaging would launch with any sort of Snapchat-like elements is probably a stretch, I’m just spitballing here. But even a basic messaging service, complete with photos, sounds like a no-brainer for Instagram – even if it may not immediately fit into their recent monetization strides.

Image via Instagram