Instagram’s text-based spin-off Threads is working on a native direct messaging feature, according to reverse engineer and leakster Alessandro Palozzi, who has spilled details on some Instagram and Threads features in the past.

The leaker shared some alleged screenshots of the feature, suggesting it’s nothing more than an internal prototype being developed under the Meta umbrella. “Thank you for trying this employee-only messaging prototype. Please keep in mind that none of the messages are encrypted or stored securely,” one of the screenshots reads.

The social media giant already has a host of social media apps that support native direct messaging, including Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp.

Furthermore, an arrow-shaped button in the upper left corner of the screen in one of the screenshots looks like the old Instagram direct message button and the Threads share button. The old Instagram Direct Messages logo was replaced by the Messenger logo in 2020 when Meta (then Facebook) allowed users to send messages in both apps.

Currently, there’s no word on a release date for the direct messaging feature for Threads or any other details that suggest how the feature will work. However, baking direct messaging functionality into Threads seems like a quick U-turn by the social media giant who didn’t want to give users “another inbox” and pushed them to use “other apps” for messaging.

Last year, Instagram head Adam Mosri responded to a user request to add direct messages in the text-centric app:

For now our plan is not to build another inbox, and instead allow people to send threads to other apps, including Instagram DMs but also apps we don’t own. It might not make long-term sense, but we thought we’d start simple.

Mosari did not rule out the possibility that the feature will reach Threads in the long run. The app designed to compete with Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) launched last year with some essential features missing from the initial version. Mosseri has been quite vocal on the platform and assured users that many features were “on the list” for a future release, but direct messaging was not one of them.