Instagram Messages Got an Update. What Does This Mean for Your Profile?

Instagram Messages Can Be Translated Into Up to 99 Languages

If you communicate with customers from abroad, message translation can significantly ease your work. Simply hold down a message and select the Translate option. The text will appear below the original message. In settings, you can also choose your preferred language into which messages are automatically translated.

This means:

• faster support for customers outside your home market,
• the ability to test sales in new countries without needing customer support in every language.

Of course, keep in mind that translations aren’t perfect. Automatic translations may not always capture important details, which can be problematic, especially with complaints or technical questions.

Message Scheduling

Instagram has also expanded the ability to schedule messages. After writing one, simply hold the Send button and set the date and time.

The private message scheduling feature may sound useful at first glance – for example, when communicating with customers in different time zones. In practice, however, you need to consider that Instagram is a fast channel and most people expect a response without waiting. Message scheduling won’t be suitable for every situation. However, it can be useful in specific cases.

It can be utilised, for example, with automatically sent messages that are part of a thoughtful series – such as follow-up contact after a purchase or communication during planned campaigns where precise timing matters.

It’s not a feature for everyday customer responses, but it can serve well where communication has a clear scenario and the timing of when the message arrives matters.

What Does This Mean for E-commerce?

For e-shops, these are minor improvements that can ease daily communication. They won’t elevate your Instagram marketing to a new level, but in specific situations they can save you time and simplify work – especially if you work with multiple markets or languages.

Instagram is starting to promote these tools actively as part of the toolkit for business accounts. If you’re not using them yet, it’s worth checking if you already have them available in your app.

How to verify this?

1. Update Instagram to the latest version.
2. Open your business account (business/professional).
3. Check if the Translate option appears in DM after long-pressing a message and if the menu for scheduling message sending activates.

If these features are missing from your account, switching your your account type between personal and business/creator might help (sometimes this expands access to tested features). Alternatively, give it a bit more time. Instagram often rolls out new features gradually across regions.