Ten years ago, Instagram went live on the App Store. In the first few months after its launch, the platform was filled with heavily filtered images of food and sunsets. Little did we know that Instagram will change the rules of communication and influencer marketing on social media.
To celebrate the occasion, Instagram launched new features that make the platform more engaging and safer for users.
Stories map and calendar
It is now easier than ever to relive your favorite memories on Instagram. On the Stories archive, you can see your Stories neatly organized by date and location.
Source: Instagram
Shops on IGTV
The Instagram Shops feature launched this year continues to improve the shopping experience. Now, users can shop products tagged directly on IGTV and show their support for their favorite social media influencers and brands.
Source: Instagram
Direct messages
DMs are getting a makeover. Instagram has connected DMs to parent app Facebook’s messenger. This facilitates the flow of conversation between apps and gives us fun new perks on Instagram. Watch out for new interactive messages, emoji reactions, themes, and even a watch feature to stream content with your friends.
Source: Instagram
Anti-bullying measures
Instagram is committed to fighting bullying on the platform with their new guidelines:
- Hidden comments: One of their new features automatically hides Instagram comments similar to others that have been reported. Users can tap “View Hidden Comments” to see them.
- Comment warning: The app provides an additional warning when people repeatedly attempt to post potentially offensive comments. Since launching this feature, Instagram reports that reminding people of the consequences of bullying and providing real-time feedback as they are writing the comment has been the most effective way to shift behavior.
- Restricted accounts: More than 35 million Instagram accounts are using or have used this feature to control the content they see on their feed. Similar features like restricting accounts and comments in bulk have proven to be successful in the app.
Source: Instagram
Classic Instagram icon
If you have been using Instagram for a while, you know the app’s icon is always changing. To celebrate this year, Instagram is giving users the ability to change the icon to any of the previous versions (including the polaroid camera icon!) or special edition designs of the current icon.
