Instagram now allows you to see when your friends are online
A green dot shows when friends are active
The way that this works is very similar to how Facebook Messenger already does. For friends that follow you or that you have previously chatted with in Direct, you will see a green dot in the lower right edge of the contact photo. If you do not wish to use the feature, you can disable Activity Status in the settings.
The purpose of the feature is twofold. They hope that the level of interaction users have with others when sharing the content they enjoy will increase. And they are also aiming to increase the amount of real-time chatting that occurs via Direct. Activity Status will allow users to see when they have the opportunity to chat with someone else at that moment.
Do you think that the amount of time you spend messaging in Direct will increase as a result of the update?
source: Instagram
Things that are NOT allowed: