Instagram Direct, The BBM Of Photo Sharing, Is Here!

Your photo-sharing life is about to get a whole new shake-up. Introducing Instagram Direct, the world's favorite photo app's (kind of) instant messaging platform. Now, starting today, users can share photos directly with a specific individual or group of 15 people — a.k.a. the cool, Polaroid e-mail chain.

At a press conference in New York this morning, Instagram's creator Kevin Systrom, debuted the new feature. After laying down the mind-boggling stats of photo sharing today (y'all are posting a lot), he launched into where Instagram is now. As more and more people switch over to smartphones, the number of photos being shared is skyrocketing. Instagram is, in Systrom's words, at the helm of a revolution. Photography has become a means of true communication — a photo of Batkid isn't just a nice image, it's an inspiration because it's being shared. And, with that as a base, Instagram Direct came into fruition.