Instagram

With TikTok in continual ascendency in the social media space, Instagram is constantly adjusting the way its platform works to make it more competitive. However, the Meta-owned network has come under criticism with some of the design and algorithm changes it has tested on the platform, and one of the things that users have voiced displeasure about most is the number of recommendations that appear ...

Meta's Instagram allows you to delete your account from directly within the Instagram app. This article shows you how it's done. To comply with Apple's updated App Store guidelines, Instagram in June 2022 added an option in its app for users to delete their account on the service. Previously it was only possible to delete your Instagram account by logging into a web browser on a desktop...

Most social media networks and chat platforms these days include a feature that shows when a user was last online or last active on the service, which can be either helpful or a hindrance, depending on your personal or business situation. WhatsApp includes an optional "Last Seen" status for the person you're chatting with in a conversation thread, while Instagram tells you how long it was...

Instagram includes several options on the platform that allow users to hide the number of like and view counts on posts. This article explains where to find them and adjust them to your preferences. The new options were originally introduced a few years ago to "depressurize people's experience" on the platform, the Meta-owned social media company said at the time. Instagram said its...

Instagram allows users to create group video calls with up to eight people on the social platform. This article explains how to use it in the Instagram mobile app. The following steps walk you through the process of starting a video call with someone and then adding other people to the call. Launch Instagram and tap the paper airplane icon in the top-right corner to go to the Direct screen....

With social media account hacking becoming increasingly more widespread, users would do well to make sure they're taking every security measure available to them. That goes doubly for frequenters of Facebook-owned Instagram, where account hijacking in particular is a recurring problem. One of the best ways to protect any online account is by using two-factor authentication (2FA). 2FA offers...

Instagram has allowed users to share multiple photos in a single post since February, but those photos have been limited to the traditional square aspect ratio, preventing users from sharing landscape or portrait mode images in a multi-photo post. Starting today, that limitation is changing. Instagram is now allowing users to share multi-photo posts in any aspect ratio, including taller...

Instagram today announced the addition of new ways to reply to photos and videos to improve Direct conversations with friends. When replying to a direct message of a photo or video sent from a friend, Instagram users can now reply with a photo or a video of their own. Hit the "Reply" button on a message to open the camera and create a photo to send. All replies include a sticker of the image...

Popular Facebook-owned image sharing site Instagram is today being updated with comment threads, a small but long-awaited feature that will bring better organized comments for the first time. With comment threads, comments on Instagram will more closely resemble comments on Facebook, with replies clearly listed under top-level comments. Prior to comment threading, all comments, even those that ...

Instagram today announced that it's testing a new feature allowing live video streamers to invite a friend to their stream. When using live video with a friend, the screen is split into two and viewers see both streams at the same time. Adding a guest or a friend can be done by tapping the "new" icon on the bottom right and then tapping "Add" on anyone who is currently watching an ongoing ...

Apple has officially joined Instagram. The company opened the followable account @Apple today that will exclusively feature curated photos and videos from iPhone users around the world, according to Mashable. The report said Apple won't share any ads or marketing on the account, which has already quickly amassed thousands of followers. Apple's presence on Instagram had been limited to...

Instagram today announced that it has added an option to reply to Instagram stories with a photo or a video, allowing Instagram users to do more than simply comment on a friend's stories. When watching a story, you'll see a new camera button that can be used to snap a photo/video or choose an image that was taken within the last 24 hours from your camera roll. There are options to use...

Instagram is today beginning a small test for a new feature called "favorites," which allows users to create a customized list of their closest friends, and from there choose to share posts and story updates only with their favorites list. Instagram product lead Robby Stein told The Verge that the company has been working on the feature for more than a year, and a broader release is expected over ...

Instagram today updated its iOS and Android apps with two new ways that will let users easily search through "Stories," the company's version of Snapchat Stories that disappear after 24 hours. The update begins in the Explore tab, where users will see new Stories at the top of the tab related to Stories happening near them. The Stories know user locations only when a location sticker is added...

Instagram today introduced even more Snapchat-like features in the latest version of its app, including face filters, a customizable hashtag sticker, a "rewind" playback option for videos, and an eraser brush. Just like Snapchat, the face filters allow users to add bunny ears, glasses, tiaras, and other virtual objects to their selfies. There are eight filters to choose from after tapping...

Instagram made a major change to its service recently, allowing photo uploads from its mobile site for the first time. When accessing the Instagram website on an iPhone or iPad, there's now a new photo upload button. Prior to the update, Instagram only allowed photo uploads from its mobile apps, and the iOS app is limited to the iPhone, so iPad users were forced to download an iPhone-only app...

Four months after giving its users the ability to save posts to view them later, Instagram today announced a new update that will allow for more organization within saved posts. Called "Collections," users on iOS and Android can now place any Instagram post they've saved into specific categories, so it's even easier to revisit them later. Now when users save a post using the bookmark icon,...

As the competition between Instagram and Snapchat continues to heat up, a new blog post by Instagram today has revealed that the company's Snapchat clone "Instagram Stories" now has more daily active users than Snapchat itself. Of its 600 million users, Instagram now has more than 200 million users posting to or interacting with Stories every day, while Snapchat reportedly has around 158...

Instagram today announced the rollout of a new Direct messaging update that will unite permanent text messages with disappearing photos and videos into one easy-to-follow thread, instead of separating the two features like they were before today's update. When disappearing messages launched in Direct last year, they were given their own "Stories" bar atop the Direct tab. Users can still find...

Apple is currently offering panoramic Instagram image-sharing tool Panols as a free download from within its Apple Store iOS app. Usually $1.99, the Panols app takes pictures from a user's photo library that have been shot in panoramic mode and accurately splits them into three images. The triptych of photos can then be uploaded in the official Instagram app using the new Multiple Picture post ...

Instagram today continued its rollout of pressure free, community-focused updates that now include a blur filter to obscure potentially sensitive content, as deemed by the Instagram review team when a particular post is reported. Instagram said that this means users are "less likely to have surprising or unwanted experiences in the app," but they can still view the image or video by simply...

Instagram today announced that users will now be able to share multiple photos and videos within one post thanks to a carousel-like feature that allows up to ten pictures and videos to be uploaded simultaneously. After the series is shared, followers will be able to swipe through in the order they were uploaded, creating a natural series of moments that can cover a friend's birthday party or...

After copying Snapchat inside of Instagram with last year's "Instagram Stories" update, Business Insider today learned that Facebook is gearing up to launch the exact same feature in its mainline Facebook mobile app. Now called "Facebook Stories," the social media company is bringing over the same circular user interface to its main app for users in a small test in Ireland, letting them post...

Instagram today announced that more than 150 million people now use its Snapchat-like Stories feature on a daily basis, and now the company is looking to monetize that user base with the introduction of full-screen ads. Just like Snapchat, Instagram will sometimes add a 5-second photo or 15-second video ad in between stories when a user watches more than one in a row. The video ads in...

At Apple's September 2016 special event, Instagram announced several new features for its app to take advantage of various iPhone capabilities. Today, co-founder Mike Krieger announced that two of the features, wide color support and Live Photos support, are rolling out to users. Instagram had to revise its photo filters to support the iPhone 7's new camera capabilities. The new photo...

Instagram announced today that it now has more than 600 million users, with the last 100 million of those users joining the photo and video sharing service in the past six months, a period in which it has added several new Snapchat-like features. Instagram has doubled the 300 million users it had in December 2014. A lot has changed this year, but the Instagram community and the diversity of...