Notes Update
Instagram Notes is likely the most intriguing of the newly revealed capabilities because it gives a mechanism for people to publicly text each other. Users can now update their friends on Notes using only text and emoji, providing an alternative social update format to Instagram’s most popular image and video formats.
They can post comments on Instagram by clicking the top of their inbox, choosing the users they follow back (also known as mutuals), and then choosing additional users from their existing “Close Friends” list. The note will then be typed up using just 60 text or emoji characters. For 24 hours, the note will be at the top of friends’ inboxes, and any responses will come in the form of DMs. This came after thorough testing when it was discovered that users valued having a simple option to initiate discussions.
Rift of Notes With Twitter
Despite the format’s differences from Twitter’s real-time feed, Instagram characterised Notes as a tool that allows users to communicate “what they’re up to” or solicit recommendations. Today’s Twitter asks users for similar feedback. For instance, when someone goes to create a tweet, the app prompts them to share “What’s happening?”. It also has a limited text input limit, just like Notes.
Amid the commotion at Twitter following Elon Musk’s acquisition, it was claimed that Meta was considering making Instagram Notes, which has been in development for many months, into a more serious Twitter rival. The business had been debating whether Notes even needed to be its own separate app or just another Instagram feed. However, it appears like Instagram is releasing Notes in its current form for the time being.
Sharing Updates
Another update is an improvement to the “Add Yours” function that was first introduced last year and invites others to follow your trend by contributing their own variation. Instagram is now testing a feature that will allow users to specifically invite others to participate by hitting “Pass It On” when they spot a trend they might find interesting. By sharing their own interpretation of trends, whether dances, skits, or AI effects set to music, users of TikTok pose one of the biggest challenges to the platform.
Instagram is now experimenting with “Candid,” a feature that allows friends to share Stories with others, but only those who also share their own Candids can see them. Users can take a Candid photo using the Stories camera, the multi-author Story at the top of the feed, or the daily notification reminder, according to Instagram.
Group Features
A new profile type on Instagram called “Group Profiles” allows users to share stories and posts with pals. Instead of being shared with your followers, content shared to a group profile is only uploaded to the group profile and not your own profile. This appears to be a response to the large number of young people who already use Instagram to submit information to groups for their school or to discuss a certain topic, for example. Previously, only a small number of users with the account login could administer these accounts and curate material from submissions. Group profiles might encourage more involvement because they make posting easier.
Another innovative method for communicating with a group of friends is Collaborative Collections. By storing postings to a brand-new “collaborative collection” in a group or through 1-to-1 direct messages, the goal, in this case, is to enable a group to bond over a common interest (DMs). By saving a post they come across in their feed or by sharing it with a buddy over DM and then saving it from there, users can build a collaborative collection.
Availability
The new features appear to be a better step in terms of recognising what users genuinely want from Instagram—to connect with friends, not just to be entertained—and focus on social sharing with friends. These features are expected to roll out very soon.
