Express Yourself in Instagram DMs: A Guide to Drawing and Adding Stickers

Express Yourself in Instagram DMs: A Guide to Drawing and Adding Stickers

Meta is redefining the way users interact through Instagram Direct Messages by introducing innovative features that inject a little more personality into your chats. With the new tools at your disposal, you can sketch directly within your DMs and express yourself using stickers. Curious about how to utilize these exciting additions? Follow this straightforward guide to explore the features!

How to Start Drawing in Instagram DMs

While drawing has been a popular feature in Instagram Stories for some time, its new presence in Direct Messages offers a refreshing way to engage creatively with your followers. Here’s how to get started:

Firstly, navigate to your Instagram app and open your Direct Messages. Select any chat, then focus on the Message bar located at the bottom of the screen. Look for the new + icon on the right side.

Tapping on

Tap the + icon and choose the Draw option from the menu.

Selecting the option to

A pop-up will appear, highlighting the new feature. Click Try it to proceed.

Tapping on

You will now see a drawing kit displayed on your screen. Select your preferred drawing tool from the options at the top, including a brush, an annotation arrow, and an eraser. Adjust the thickness of the pen’s stroke using the slider on the right side.

Drawing tools view in Instagram DMs on Android.

Choose your desired color from the palette available at the bottom of the screen, and slide to the right for more options, or use the pipette tool to pick a color from your surroundings.

If you make a mistake, simply tap the Back button at the bottom to erase it.

Tapping

You can create multiple drawings in one go, but they will be grouped as a single element for easy deletion later on. To share your artwork, tap the paper plane icon in the lower right corner.

Tapping

Your sketches will now be visible to the recipient. While testing, it was noted that sometimes Instagram might not correctly mirror the doodles, occasionally placing them over text—a bug that will hopefully be fixed soon.

Annotation view from the receiver end in Instagram DMs on iPhone.

Incorporating Stickers into Your Instagram DM Canvas

Although you could already respond with stickers in messages, Instagram now allows users to place stickers across their DM canvas creatively. If you want to enhance your self-expression, this feature is perfect for you!

To start, long-press on a message received from a friend or even one of your previous messages.

Long-pressing on message in Instagram DMs on Android.

From the pop-up menu, select Add Sticker.

Selecting option to

Choose a sticker from the list of available options, which will appear over the selected message. Now, long-press on the reaction sticker you just placed.

Long-pressing reaction sticker in Instagram DMs on Android.

Then select Move.

Opting for

Reposition it anywhere in the DM and confirm by tapping the blue button on the right.

Sending sticker after repositioning it in Instagram DMs on Android.

How to Delete Drawings or Stickers in Instagram DMs

Not everyone enjoys doodles and stickers in their conversations. If you receive a drawing that doesn’t sit well with you, long-press it to access a menu and select Delete for you. Remember, this action only removes the doodle from your view; the sender will still see it in the chat.

Opting for

If you wish to remove a doodle you sent, simply long-press on it and select Unsend. This will completely delete the sketch or sticker for both you and the recipient.

Opting to

If you would like to clear all drawings and stickers in a DM, long-press on any element and choose Hide all. This option is accessible for both the sender and receiver.

Pressing on

After selecting Hide all, confirm your choice in the pop-up. Your DM will now display only the text messages.

Confirming to delete all drawing and stickers from Instagram DM on Android.

If you decide to restore the doodles and stickers, tap the Sticker icon present in the Message bar.

Bringing back hidden drawings and stickers in Instagram DMs on Android.

Finally, tap Show in the pop-up menu to retrieve your doodles and stickers.

For users who frequently utilize Direct Messages on Instagram, familiarizing yourself with the various symbols and functionalities is essential to make the most of these new features.

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