Instagram adds DM filters to help creators

Instagram has added some new message filters for creator accounts, making it easier to sort your message requests and find the most relevant requests in your inbox.

As you can see from these examples, developers can now do this Sort and filter their message requests via various qualifiers, including reordering messages based on the sender's follower count, listing DMs only from verified accounts, only from branded accounts, from other creators, and more.

There's also a new, dedicated Story Replies folder that makes it easier to search through your actual messages as opposed to story replies.

This should make it easier for creators to manage their often crowded inboxes and handle relevant requests, especially brand collaboration requests.

Which is obviously a major headache for big YouTubers.

As IG boss Adam Mosseri explained:

“When you go to the requests inbox, it can be really overwhelming at times, and I've heard this a lot from creators I've spoken to around the world. That’s why we’ve added ways to filter out these queries to only see the ones you’re looking for.”

So while regular users probably won't have much of a problem with their DM traffic, this becomes more of an issue for YouTubers as their audience reach expands.

Remember when T-Pain found out he had a ton of DM requests for collaborations that he didn't even know were coming through IG?

I guess that's exactly the kind of challenge Instagram is looking to tackle with these new filters, which make it easier for big creators to quickly understand their DMs and make sure they don't miss anything important.

And as DMs become the primary engagement option across social apps (with feeds transitioning to entertainment-focused content), it makes sense for Instagram to focus on DM activity and ensure they help creators maximize their opportunities.

Because Mosseri and Meta also know that they need creators to keep posting to keep IG relevant, and that they also need those creators to stay engaged in their apps to get to the next level, which is the Metaverse.

Improving the DM connection is another way to increase creators' reliance on the platform, and these changes could be valuable in the overall scheme.

Instagram also notes that it “We continue to invest in improvements that simplify DMs and make it easier for creators to navigate their messages.” So there could be more DM improvements coming soon.