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 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...

Instagram today launched a small update for its iOS and Android apps, allowing users to save a post they're interested in to check out later. Underneath each post in the feed users will find a small bookmark icon, and tapping it will send it to a new Saved Post section in the Profile tab. Saved Posts are private and only visible for you to view, and Instagram says that it'll help organize and...

Instagram today announced that Live Video in Instagram Stories is rolling out to all of its users in the United States starting this morning. Introduced in November, Live Video is an Instagram Stories option that allows Instagram users to broadcast live video for up to an hour. Live video content is discovered through notifications that are sent out when a friend starts broadcasting, and...

A new update coming to Instagram will allow users to turn the comments section under each of their posts off completely, continuing the app's anti-harrassment toolset it began introducing with a keyword moderation update in September. Users will simply have to tap "Advanced Settings" when crafting a post and select "Turn Off Commenting," so no followers or strangers can write a comment...

Instagram today revealed two major new updates coming to its platform, including transient live videos and direct messages, akin to Snapchat. The company has added live video as a new UI option in the story camera -- Boomerang was added there recently as well -- and the feature lets users go live for up to an hour. As with Facebook's own live video, friends get notifications when the stream...

An update rolling out to the iOS, Android, and Windows 10 Instagram app today has introduced the company's standalone app "Boomerang" directly into its new Snapchat-like stories feature. Boomerang allows users to take a burst of photos that cycle forwards and backwards quickly, creating an animated GIF that they can share to Instagram and Facebook directly within the app. Today, when users...

Back in August, Instagram introduced a new "Instagram Stories" feature, allowing Instagram users to post temporary images and videos to their profile. Content expires after 24 hours, giving users a chance to share more casual posts that won't be permanently available on Instagram. Prior to today, Instagram users have only been able to see Stories from people they follow, but Instagram has...

Instagram is introducing a "Save Draft" feature to its mobile app, allowing users to start working on a post and then save a copy of the edits for finishing later (via TechCrunch). The option appears if users tap the "back" button after they have added effects, filters, a caption or a location to a photo. Previously this only threw up a warning that any changes would be discarded, but now...

Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom today announced that the company is "taking the next step" to protect its users from online abuse with the wide launch of a new comment moderation feature in the photography-focused social network app. Referred to as a "keyword moderation tool," the feature will let each user type in words they find to be offensive, effectively hiding any mention of them in the comment ...

Photo sharing app Instagram is set to become one of the first platforms specifically designed to take advantage of the iPhone 7's powerful new camera features. Details of the upcoming update were shared by Instagram's head of design Ian Spalter during yesterday's Apple event in San Francisco, where he demonstrated how the app would make use of several of the new phones' capabilities....

Photo-sharing service Instagram has begun removing its GPS-aggregating "Photo Maps" feature from user profiles. Some of Instagram's users may have already noticed that Photo Maps is gone when visiting another profile, with Instagram confirming to Mashable that it began phasing out the feature last week. Photo Maps will remain on your own profile tab "for now," but the company is expected to...

A small but noticeable update has hit Instagram today, with the company launching the ability to zoom in on photos within the iOS app. With pinch-to-zoom support, users can get better close-up views of Instagram posts within their feed, on other users' profiles, and in the Explore tab. Today we’re bringing ZOOM to Instagram on iOS! Pinch to zoom on photos & videos in feed, on profiles and on ...

Following in the wake of a few additions to the Instagram app that largely fell in line with rival service Snapchat -- including 24-hour long posts and an "Events" channel -- recently the popular photo sharing app announced a feature lacking in Snapchat, which will suggest new Stories for users to follow (via TechCrunch). The suggestions will be based on who you already follow and the topics...

Instagram has introduced a new "Events" channel in the Explore section of its app that highlights user photos and video clips captured during specific events from around the world. Currently only available in the U.S., the new channel implements an algorithm to curate media from events like sports games and concerts, based on a user's preferences and habits, according to a post on the...

Instagram recently began testing a much-requested new feature that lets users save drafts of potential posts on the social network, instead of having to completely discard edits made to any photo (via TechCrunch). A small number of users mentioned seeing the "Save Draft" feature as far back as July, but Instagram seems to have expanded its testing phase in early August, without rolling it out...

Instagram today announced the launch of a new feature called "Instagram Stories," which lets its users post customized images and videos onto their profile, abiding by the ephemeral rule of rival service Snapchat: every post disappears completely within 24 hours. The company said that this lets users not have to "worry about overposting" and clogging up their profile in the process. Stories...

Social media app Instagram is planning to launch a new feature that allows its users personalized control over the comments shared on each of their posts. The company has long had blanket rules for what constitutes appropriate speech on its network, but the new comment filter ability will let each user tweak specific rules to their own liking, since "different words or phrases are offensive...

Earlier this weekend, Apple began promoting book-related content with a new Instagram account centered around its iBooks digital platform. The launch of the iBooks Instagram page coincided with the release of the script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which the account posted about yesterday. Apple also wished author J.K. Rowling a happy birthday through its new verified Instagram...