Instagram’s standalone Direct app will be killed off in the next few weeks, TechCrunch reports. A spokesperson for the Facebook-owned company has acknowledged that “We’re rolling back the test of the standalone Direct app”.

“We’re focused on continuing to make Instagram Direct the best place for fun conversations with your friends,” a spokesperson commented in a statement provided to TechCrunch.

This was first noted by social media researcher Matt Navarra, who tweeted a notice in the Instagram app saying that “In the coming month, we’ll no longer be supporting the Direct app”. Your conversations on Direct will automatically move over to Instagram, the message clarified.

Direct from Instagram is probably going away because Facebook announced earlier this year that it will be consolidating chats on Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook into a unified new experience with end-to-end encryption and an iMessage-like layer for SMS.

The social networking giant is expected to also reinstate direct-messaging functionality in its eponymous mobile app. And as part of Facebook’s simplifying and housekeeping, the company will be releasing a native desktop edition of Messenger for Mac and Windows PCs later this year.

Have you ever used Direct from Instagram at all?

Let us know down below in the comments.