Instagram, the world's famous photo-sharing app introduced Thrusday, December 12, a new messaging service that would let users send videos and private photos to their friends directly, according to a report by The New York Times.

Kevin Systrom, Instagram CEO and founder, introduced Instagram Direct and said that the newest feature is meant to start private conversations among friends about a particular photograph or video.

"For us, communication is very core," Systrom told The New York Times. "It's not about photography necessarily."

According to Systrom, Instagram Direct will allow users to share their photos and videos with 15 or fewer friends. This is different from how Instagram previously works in which a user who post a photo or video will automatically be sent and seen by the uploader's followers.

"The whole idea of this feature is to take moments and send them," Systrom told The New York Times.

With this latest feature, Systrom envisions the service to be useful to families, or to teachers who want to share with all the students in a class. Brands and advertisers can interact with their followers by inviting users to submit photos, say for a contest, for example.

"It's not about spamming everyone you know," Systrom said. "It's about sharing a moment with your friends."

Social media giant Facebook, has been trying to deliver its users a stand-alone messaging service for years, but it was unsuccessful. It bought Instagram for $12 billion in 2012.

Facebook, which bought Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion, has been trying to introduce a stand-alone messaging service for years with little success.

Instagram Direct is available for iPhone and Android users. Instagram Direct comes at an opportune time when messaging services are increasingly becoming popular among mobile users. Overseas, private messaging has become a big business, which include services like Line and KakaoTalk.