Instagram will soon offer Discord-like 'community chat' feature
What's the story
Instagram is said to be working on a new feature called "community chat," which would let users create groups of as many as 250 members.
The news comes from developer Alessandro Paluzzi, who has a history of discovering new features within Meta's apps.
The community chats would work similar to Discord, allowing individual users to create chats around specific topics and control who can join.
Functionality
Community chats will have moderation features
Unlike Instagram's broadcast channels, where creators can send messages to their followers, anyone in the community chat can join the conversation.
The feature also comes with built-in moderation capabilities. According to Paluzzi's screenshots, "Admins can remove messages and members to keep the channel safe."
There is also a note that Instagram reviews Community Chat against its Community Standards.
Uncertainty
Launch date remains uncertain
The launch date of the community chat feature is still unclear. An Instagram spokesperson called it an internal prototype not being tested outside the company.
However, Meta has previously introduced similar features in its other apps. In 2022, WhatsApp started testing a "Communities" feature and later brought "Community Chats" to Facebook and Messenger within the same year.