Instagram is set to launch the first version of Subscriptions on the platform this week, which the company says is designed to support creators and allow them to "monetize and become closer to their followers through exclusive experiences."
Instagram has been is struggling with an identity crisis and is failing to resonate with young people. Despite this, it managed to be the number one most downloaded app globally in the last quarter of 2021.
Instagram has announced that it has started to test the ability to switch between three different views on the app's home screen, two of which would give users the ability to see posts in chronological order.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri has revealed that the social media platform will put an even bigger focus on its video features, such as Reels, in 2022. There will also be a focus on improving the app's messaging service, monetized content creator tools, and transparency.
Instagram famously ditched the chronological version of the feed in its app years ago and substituted an algorithmic-based one. But as pressure mounts on the company to make its app safer for young people, it is apparently bringing it back.
A report alleges that despite Instagram prohibiting the sale of drugs on its platform, minors have been able to easily find sellers of illegal substances, adding to the growing list of ways that the app endangers young users.
Instagram has worked on several experimental features in an effort to make it a safer space for teenagers and young adults. Today, Instagram has officially launched the "Take a Break" feature with more safeguarding tools to follow next year.
Instagram has released a long-awaited feature that allows users to delete a single image or clip from an already uploaded carousel.
Instagram will begin wider testing of its promised "Take a Break" feature. An optional toggle, it is designed to nudge users to stop using the app after a duration of the user's choosing, but it isn't nearly as robust as it was initially described.
Instagram appears poised to launch more widespread testing of paid creator subscriptions, a feature that would allow accounts to provide specialized content to "fans" and would allow them to generate income directly in the app.
Instagram's head Adam Mosseri has announced that the company is pausing development for an "Instagram for Kids" amid outside pressure from lawmakers and regulators, although Mosseri says Instagram still believes it's "the right thing to do."
In response to a Wall Street Journal story that revealed Facebook is aware that social media can harm teens, Instagram's head Adam Mosseri says the dangers of his app are akin to car accidents, a comparison that has drawn considerable ridicule.
Instagram is making simple browsing easier by integrating topics -- what it calls "Interest Search" -- into results from searches, greatly expanding the ability to find images and videos beyond hashtags and accounts.
During a second-quarter earnings call, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors that video has grown in importance for the social media platform and now accounts for almost half of all time on Facebook. Instagram's largest engagement is also in video content as the company pivots away from photos.
Instagram is looking to focus its attention on competing directly with TikTok and as a result, its head Adam Mosseri says that the popular app is no longer a photo-sharing app, but will shift to entertainment, video, and shopping.
Most social media platforms shroud the idea of "the algorithm" in mystery. Instagram appears to be breaking that mold as it has published a detailed blog that explains what its algorithm is and how it ranks feeds, Stories, Explore, and Reels.