Christmas came early for Tumblr users, who can now chat with friends and followers via a new instant messaging feature.

Look for the smiley balloon icon in your dashboard to start a conversation with fellow bloggers.

Don't worry if you can't immediately access the IM function. It's rolling out first to a handful of folks, who can invite friends to join before a full rollout in early December.

Similar to other in-app services like Google Chat or Facebook Messenger, Tumblr's private messaging window appears in the lower right corner of the screen, without obscuring your timeline.

The very basic application doesn't support emojis, GIFs, or file sharing—yet. But, as Engadget reported, the social network plans to introduce more features, including the ability to share posts and media, in the future.

There are a few catches, though. Unlike the "Ask" feature, messages cannot be sent anonymously; that is, other users can identify you by your account details, though real names are not necessary. Plus, the IM rollout essentially replaces Fan Mail, which debuted in 2012 as an "interblog messaging service."

The good news: You can avoid awkward conversations with random strangers by simply toggling your blog's settings to receive messages from only those you follow.

The Yahoo-owned social network earlier this year added a number of new features to make long-form writing easier—and more Medium-like, with the ability to place images, videos, subheads, and horizontal lines anywhere in an entry.

In March, Tumblr also introduced Buy, Pledge, and Get Involved buttons in its mobile apps, which appear in posts that link to particular sites, like Etsy, Artsy, Kickstarter, and DOSomething.org.

Support for GIFs came over the summer via an internal search engine, as well as the new Tumblr TV auto-slideshow feature.