It seems like just yesterday we were reporting that Twitter has now added the ability to send photos via direct message. This will be great for Twitter users who want to just send a quick photo to a follower without the rest of their followers seeing it.

Now, Instagram has followed suit with their new Instagram Direct feature. Instagram founder Kevin Systrom rolled out the new feature to a flock of reporters at a New York City event. CNet’s Roger Cheng was definitely not impressed. Cheng made a good point that virtually every other social network has the ability to send photos in direct 1:1 messages, included Instagram’s parent company Facebook.

According to Cheng, Systrom laid out the feature saying that Instagram was a “core way of communications, with a direct natural extension”.

One thing that both Cheng and The Verge’s Jacob Kastrenakes pointed out was that with the new Instagram Direct you can only send one photo per direct message, you can’t send photos back and forth. However, you can run a text stream back and forth. To send another photo to the person you’re directly messaging you have to start a new “thread”.

With the features that Instagram has put into it’s Instagram Direct service they’re going to have a problem solidifying their place in the direct messaging arena. Most Instagram users are already using Facebook, Twitter, and text messages to communicate directly with their friends and family.

Instagram may see an uptick in teen users using their Instagram Direct service. Teens have been leaving Facebook and Instagram is one of the social networks that has benefit from this exodus.