Instagram has decided to call it a day on its standalone messaging app – which most people never actually got to experience – instead choosing to implement the app’s features within the messaging function on the main Instagram app.

In 2017, the Facebook-owned app began trialling Direct in Chile, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, and Uruguay. The app was meant to rival Snapchat, even opening to the camera like the popular multimedia messaging app. However, having not really taking off, the company has said it will kill off the app “in the coming month”, as spotted by social media commentator Matt Navarra.

Whatever date Instagram officially pulls the plug on the app, all conversations will be automatically move back over to the main Instagram app for those few souls that got their hands on the app in the first place.

Confirmed: Instagram is killing its standalone Direct Messaging app pic.twitter.com/owt2gXtfCE

— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) 16 May 2019

The move also aligns with Facebook’s plans to integrate the messaging services of WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger. Though all the apps will remain as standalone platforms, Instagram users will be able to send messages to someone who only has WhatsApp, for example. Furthermore, all the messaging apps will benefit from the end-to-end encryption already present on WhatsApp.