Instagram never stops to surprise us. While the world is trying to stay resilient through these tough economic times, it is exciting to see how Instagram is rapidly developing new features and functionalities to tackle main business issues and help users support their favorite brands.

And now, more than ever, keeping up with what’s new on Instagram can be quite a challenge. There are new Instagram features almost every week.

FYI: Embed Instagram widget automatically with the social media aggregator and UGC platform by EmbedSocial. Click below to try it for free:

New Instagram Features July 2023

Share a broadcast message in an Instagram story

We recently discovered this option, and it’s worth sharing.

If you’ve started using the Instagram broadcast channels, you usually have access to information shared only in your community. In order to spread the word and share some of these messages beyond the channel, you can do it with a straightforward option.

So go to the channel, and tap on the message you think is worth sharing with your audience. In the options, you will see the ‘Share to story’ option. Once you tap it, you will be directly redirected to the Stories editor, where you can just click to publish and share the message in your stories.

The message will appear short with a link to Join the broadcast channel if somebody wants to read more.

Cool right?

New Instagram Features June 2023

New option to download Instagram Reels

Adam Mosseri, the Head of Instagram, has announced that they are launching an option for users to download Instagram reels on their phone’s camera rolls that are shared by public accounts.

The option is rolled out in the US, and it’s coming worldwide very soon.

To download an Instagram Reel, just follow these steps:

1. Tap on an Instagram Reel to preview it.
2. Tap on the right-hand sharing ‘arrow’ icon.
3. In the popup with the list of your friends, at the bottom, you will see the Downalod option.
4. Once you tap on it, the Instagram Reel will be saved on your camera roll.

We at EmbedSocial allow users to embed Instagram Reels on their website, so if you use the download option, you can easily upload these Reels and create widgets.

These widgets can be topical, meaning you might want to share some of the latest recipes of your favorite cooks on Instagram, maybe some fitness or make-up routines, and bring the Instagram Reels to your website as new content.

It is important to note that the Reels shared by private accounts can’t be downloaded or made public. Accounts can limit the ability to have their Reels downloaded.

Instagram launches Notes Music

Notes are becoming more fun. Now users will be able to put a 30 min music clip that will appear as their Note.

In the beginning of the year, Notes were introduced to users in some countries, and so far, people used them as a short textual hint of their current mood.

This means that users can use it to express their current mood and trigger other people to start direct messaging conversations.

In addition to the music notes, a Translation feature is also released, so when users dont understand the Note, they can tap on it and click ‘See translation’ and get english translation of the Note.

Notes Music is very well advertised in the broadcasting channels by Mark and Adam, and it looks like the whole Meta team believes in this feature as a game changer when starting conversations. According to Adam Mosseri, Notes are becoming very popular with the young audiance as a quick conversations starter.

New Instagram Features May 2023

Instagram is launching GIFs in Comments.

Finally, GIFs in Comments on Instagram.

Gifs are coming to Instagram and will now be available in the Comments section for Stories and Reels. Users will be able to search for a gif and post it in a comment for a better and more fun expression in the conversations.

The functionality is integrated with GIPHY – a service where people can create and publish their gifs.

To post a gif, just click on the comment box, and look for the GIF icon. Tap on it, and a popup with gifs library will appear.

Pick the one you like the most and post it.

Here is how this functionality looks like:

Share a song in Instagram Notes

Instagram is testing a new feature in Notes where people can share a song like a Note.

It is an interesting way of self-expression and a conversation opener that can boost conversations to move to DMs.

It works similarly to adding a song in Reels, where a user can crop a snippet from the song that will appear as the note. On clicking, the friends will be able to listen to part of the song.

Here is what a Note with a song will look like:

To help you stay up-to-date with the latest Instagram updates and adjust your business to them, we put together a list of the latest updates you may not know about or know how to use.

Keep in mind that Instagram is constantly adding and removing features (now faster than ever). And I’m sure you want to keep your business account trending.

So, if you don’t have some of the features we listed, don’t worry – they are coming your way! Or better, subscribe to our newsletter, and we will bring all new Instagram updates right to your inbox:

New Instagram Updates in April 2023

Add Multiple Links to Instagram Bio

Instagram is allowing creators to add multiple links in their bio. This is a solution to have a much easier job for their followers to discover more about the content creators share.

For example, these multiple links can help UGC creators and brands add links to their shops and other social media profiles.

With this update, you can add up to 5 links.

Here’s how to add multiple links to the Instagram bio

1. Go to your profile and tap ‘Edit profile.’
2. Tap Links and then tap ‘Add external links.’
3. Paste the URL and its title
4. Tap Done.

To reorder the links, you can do a drag-and-drop.

Please note only the first link will be seen on the profile, and then tap on ‘2 other links ‘ as seen below; the other links will be listed in the small popover.

We are not sure how useful this is than having one link in the bio link with all the external links and links on the photos plus. One thing is for sure it adds friction.

If you are looking for a solution to add more links and links to your Instagram photos, you should use a link-in-bio page creator.

New Reels Trends and Editing Tools, Expansion of Gifts and New Reels Insights

The new Instagram update includes a few improvements with Instagram Reels that will allow users to create and earn more from their Instagram videos easily.

Here is what’s new in more detail:

Reels Trends

This new feature provides a list of trending Reels, and the idea is to allow UGC creators to get inspiration and create Reels that reflect the latest trends.

To access this feature, go to Professional Dashboard and click on Reels Trends.

Enhanced Editing Tools

New Reels editing tools that will enable video creators to easily add the video, apply text and other effects like music, etc.

Improved Insights

Finally, creators will be able to see better information about the performance of their Reels. With this new Instagram update Reels

To access this option, you will have the option ‘View Insights’ in your Reel, and when you click on it will take you to the Insights page with stats like total watch time and average watch time.

Gifts Expansion

This bigger expansion will allow creators to activate the gift option in Canada, Australia, Mexico, France, New Zealand, and the UK in the coming weeks.

Additionally, a new option exists to see which fans shared the gift, so creators can personally engage and thank them.

New Collaborative Collections on Instagram

We’re happy to share a new feature with you: Instagram Collaborative Collections. This addition makes it possible for you and your friends to create, share, and explore collections together, adding a new layer of interaction to your Instagram experience.

Collaborative Collections offer a simple way to share content with your friends. You can create a shared collection, add posts, and discuss them together, making it perfect for exchanging ideas, planning trips, or just sharing your favorite finds.

Here’s how to create a Collaborative Collection:

• Find a post you like and tap Save icon
• Create new collaborative collection and name the collection
• Toggle “on” for collaborative
• Select friends and tap Save.

Tutorial on how to create collaborative collection >

Remember that when you create a Collaborative Collection, only the friends you invite can view it. You can also add or remove friends at any time, and you’ll receive notifications for updates within the shared collection.

New Instagram Updates in March 2023

New Reels Trend Report March 2023

This is not actually a new feature, but it’s a very useful report that Instagram shares with creators.

Here are some of the March trends, and you can see all Instagram Reels trends on our website:

• The real me – this trend is great for people to show their true selves and randomly post goofy and genuine photos of themselves
• Fried cheese pickle wrap – is another great and very tasty trend for people to try an interesting snack of fried cheese that wraps a pickle. It seems very delicious, so don’t watch it on an empty stomach.

To find out more about the latest trends, see all Instagram Reels trends >

PRO Tip: How to turn on or off the Instagram app updates

The new features often require you to update your Instagram app. If you always want your latest Instagram updates, please turn on the auto-update option on your phone; this is available for Android devices with Meta App Manager installed.

To turn auto-updates on or off on your Instagram app:

1. Open your Instagram profile page
2. Tap the menu icon on the top right and tap Settings.
3. Tap About, and tap App updates.
4. Tap next to Auto-update Instagram to turn auto-updates on or off.

Top Instagram Updates in February 2023

Meta Verified to Pay and Make Your Instagram or Facebook Account Verified

Update:

Update: Meta Verified is now available for US users. This is a step backward from what was announced just one month ago. And with this announcement, there are changes in what users will get – meaning US users won’t get increased reach by default when they get the blue checkmark. Here is the official news:

“We’re removing increased reach as a subscription feature for now as we gather more feedback and further evolve Meta Verified”

Finally, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta would be charging people who want to have verified or a blue check account can do that by paying $11 on the Web or $14.99 on iOS. This service is already rolled-out in New Zealand and Australia.

This is an announcement after a few months of attempts from Twitter to make the charge of the blue checkmarks as a new revenue stream, attempts that still need to be enforced due to various problems.

According to Mark, this service will significantly help people with their representation across the network.

For example, people can verify their accounts with a government-issued ID and protect their Meta identity from people impersonating or using their names for various reasons.

Read more about how to get Instagram verified badge >

Introducing Instagram Broadcast Channels

The Instagram Broadcast Channels are the latest update in the Instagram platform.

It’s a new feature that allows creators to build community within a new messaging space. An Instagram Channel acts as a direct line between the creator and the followers, where creators are able to distribute all their latest news directly to the most loyal followers.

It is available only to US creators at the moment, but it will roll out worldwide in the coming months.

Instagram is launching Gifts for all creators in the US

Gifts are an effortless way for creators to make a living on Instagram. It is an option that allows fans to send digital gifts that, in time, creators can monetize.

This is how it works.

• For eligible creators, a Gift option will appear in the bottom left corner of their Reels.
• A fan can choose and purchase a gift (currently Stars) from the library and send it to the creator.
• In time the creators, once they accumulate a certain amount of gifts, will be able to exchange and withdraw them as real money.

Here are the eligibility criteria for having the Gifts option:

• The creator needs to be based in US
• Have a professional Instagram account
• To actively create Reels on Instagram
• Pass the Monetisation Policy
• Continue to comply with the Instagram Comunity Guidelines

To see if you are elidable, check for more information in your own Professional dashboard in the Instagram app.

Gifts will only be available for Reels now and for past, present, and future Instagram Reels.

Top Instagram Updates in January 2023

Roll out of dynamic avatar profile photos on Instagram

Finally, there is a use of your Instagram 3D avatar.

Now users can add their Instagram avatars that will flip when somebody visits their profile on Instagram. With this, Instagram is introducing for the first time an animation in their platform.

You can add yours by a tap on the Edit profile option.

To see the announcement and how it works, see the post below:

New features such as Quiet mode, Hidden words in recommendations, and multi-select in Explore

This week, Instagram is launching new features that will help users have a better Instagram experience. Here is what’s new:

Quiet Mode

This new option helps users to set up a period of time when they do not want to use the Instagram app and focus on other things. During this period, the app won’t send any notifications, and also the users trying to contact you will know that you are in Quent mode.

Once you return, you will get all the things you missed, such as mentions, messages, comments, etc. so you will know what was happening while you were away.

Hidden words in Recommendations

This option already exists in Direct messenger, but with this update, users can define hidden words that will be applied to what Instagram will show you in the Recommendations section. This means that images or videos using some of the hidden words you specified will no longer appear in the recommendations.

Multi-select in Explore

With a long press on any video or image in Explore, you can select Not interested so the Instagram algorithm will know to provide you with better explore content. And with the new multi-select, you can select multiple images or videos and quickly clean your Instagram Explore.

Hope these new features will help you optimize and improve your Instagram usage.

Instagram App Navigation Update

Instagram is announcing a change in the main navigation in its mobile app – which will try to make a simpler way for users to adopt the 2023 mission of the company, which will include bringing people together over the things they love.

The new change will be released in February and include the following: they will remove the Shop menu and now have the shortcut for creating content in the center and Reels to the right.

As the CEO, shared, people will still be able to use the shopping options in the Feed, Stories, Reels, and Ads.

Instagram feature development focus in 2023

Instagram is starting this year with an announcement of its primary focus for 2023. In the previous year, they leaned toward helping creators make a living with a focus on video and messaging features.

By hitting 2 billion users, Instagram will continue with the vision to bring people together over the things they love over their interests, and to do this, in 2023 Instagram will focus on the following 3 things:

• Inspire people to be creative
• Help people discover things they love
• Spark connections between people

We are excited to see what the platform launches next following these 3 new strategies. Stay tuned!

Top Instagram Updates in December 2022

Instagram Group Profiles

Instagram Group Profiles offer a new way to connect with friends and family. You can create your own Instagram Group Profile or join an existing one, where you can all share stories, posts, and pictures in a dedicated shared profile. Whenever content is posted in a Group Profile, it will only be seen by other group members instead of your followers. It will also appear in the Group Profile instead of your own Instagram profile. Here. is how this profile Looks like:

Those with this option can create a group profile by simply tapping the “+” sign in the Instagram app and choosing Instagram Group Profiles.

With Instagram Group Profiles, you can stay connected with your loved ones like never before!

Instagram Candid Stories

Are you looking for a new way to share what’s going on in your life with your friends? With Instagram Candid Stories, you can easily capture and share moments with the people closest to you. It’s like having a private story that is only visible to those who also share their own Candid.

You can use the Stories Camera, the multi-author story at the top of your feed, or you can capture a Candid from the daily notification reminder that starts after the initial Candid. And if you don’t want to be reminded, no problem! You can always turn off the notification in your Settings.

Instagram account status update

With this update, Instagram is expanding the Account Status, so professional users know if their content will be considered and eligible to reach non-followers as recommended content.

Here are all things users can do with Account status

• Check if your content can be recommended: See if your content may be eligible to be recommended to non-followers in places like Explore, Reels, and Feed Recommendations.
• Fix content problems – know if you have problematic content that is not following the Community guidelines and how to fix it.

With these updates, you can see why you might be experiencing a lower reach of your content when compared with the previous content that was recommended and gained more views and engagements.

Within the account status, you can see if there might be a case when your account is not elidable, and you will be able to fix problems and get back to being recommended.

Top Instagram Updates in November 2022

Add Music to Instagram Posts

We’re excited to announce that you can now add music to your Instagram Feed photo posts! With this new feature, you can express yourself with the power of sound and bring your content to life in a whole new way. Whether it’s background music for a picture collage or an upbeat song for a travel photo, adding music to Feed photos is a great way to make your posts stand out and tell your story. So grab some tunes and start sharing!

Here is how to add music to a post on Instagram:

1. Open your Instagram app and tap the plus icon at the top right corner
2. Take a photo or choose one from your phone’s library.
3. Tap Next, then tap Next again in the top right.
4. Tap Add music. You can select a song from the list or search for a song in our music library.
5. Use the sliding bar at the bottom to choose which part of the song you want to play with your photo.
6. Tap Done, then tap Share in the top right.

Mute option: Stop seeing stories and posts without people knowing.

This is a feature that has been introduced previously, but it is one of the best to be highlighted.

You probably have somebody in your feed or stories that you don’t want to unfollow but don’t want to see their content.

In this case, you can use the option Mute, which will remove the person’s content from your feed, but you will still continue to follow them; in other words, they will not know that their posts are not in their feed.

To Mute somebody, just follow the steps below:

In stories:

1. Long press on their story
2. In the popover, tap Mute
3. Choose to mute their stories or posts, or both

In profile:

1. Go to their profile, and tap on the Following button
2. Choose Mute
3. And choose to mute their stories or posts, or both

You can also un-do it, just tap on Following on their profile, and you can switch to unmute their stories or posts and see their content again.

Achievements in Instagram Reels

This very cool option encourages creators to create more Reels and improve their content.

There are 3 achievements so far such as:

• Creative streak – Keeping up their creation streak by creating more than one Reel per week
• Trendspotter – Joining the conversation by using trendy audio or Reels effects.
• Collaborator – Collaborating with another creator through Remix, Collabs tool, ‘Add Yours’ sticker

When a new achievement is reached, the creator will be notified and will have a link to read more about what they earned and what to do next and unlock the next achievement.

Gifts on Instagram

Gifts are coming on Instagram; this option will be available with Reels. The goal with gifts is to help creators earn money from their followers who love the content they share.

This option will be first available to a limited number of creators in the US, and the eligible creators will have the option to activate the receiving of stars in their Professional dashboard.

Fans can send a gift by purchasing Stars on Instagram. More to come in the coming period.

Top Instagram Updates in October 2022

New Instagram Profiles Design on Desktop

Instagram is rolling out a new desktop design for Instagram profiles.

The new design includes a unique position of the menu and some changes in how they show the reels in the Explore tab.

Here is an example of the Glossier Instagram profile:

Now the top menu appears as a vertical menu on the left side of the screen.

By doing this, there is a broader focus on the profile feed, whereas the menu options are more visible.

Instagram AR Ads

Instagram is rolling out the capability to add an augmented reality filter and create an ad. These ads will be able to run Instagram stories and Instagram feed and can invite users to do all sorts of activities, like join games or contests.

This is big in the advertising industry, and the applications are endless.

We can’t wait to see these ads and what brands and agencies will come up with.

To create an AR ad on Instagram, advertisers need to use the Meta Sparck studio to create and get approval for their AR effect.

Expanding Instagram Creators’ Marketplace

Instagram has announced that they are expanding the creator’s marketplace with more features and rolling it out to more users.

Make projects discoverable

With the new updates, brands can now make their project discoverable so creators can find their projects. Brands will also be able to message multiple creators in bulk, which will appear in a prioritized partnership inbox in their messages. Also, brands can send offers with fixed rates, so creators can make decisions faster and collaborate more efficiently with brands.

On the other hand, creators can soon make their profiles available for new opportunities so brands can know they are interested.

Creator portfolio

As the name suggests, creators can set up their portfolio pages and previous showcase work they’ve created and their past partnerships.

An easier way to use organic content in ads

Creators will get a unique code for their posts that they can share with a partner so they can create an ad with that code and promote the organic content/post as the brand’s ad.

Instagram is testing a new feature called Notes

It has been a very silent month regarding new Instagram features. But we have a teaser of something that is coming up.

In an AMA session, the CEO, Adam Mosseri, shared a new feature the team is currently testing in Canada, Mexico, Egypt, South Korea, and some other countries.

It is called Notes, and as he explained in a very short video, the option will be available in Instagram Messenger, where people will be able to write and send Notes in their DMs.

From the screenshot he shared, Notes appear in the messenger header, and it looks like you can access them, similar to taping a Story. See below:

It seems like an interesting feature that will make the users stay more on the app when it comes to sharing longer texts, proofreading, and double-checking before sending them a message.

Top Instagram Updates in September 2022

‘Not Interested’ option on Instagram

Instagram is a great platform for staying up-to-date on what’s happening with friends, family, and your favorite celebrities. However, there’s also a lot of content that you may not be interested in. If you find yourself constantly scrolling past posts that don’t interest you, there’s a new ‘Not Interested’ control that can help.

When you see a post in your feed that you’re not interested in, just tap the three dots in the upper right corner and select ‘Not Interested.’

Instagram will then try to show you less of this type of content in the future. The more you use the ‘Not Interested’ control, the better Instagram will be at tailoring your feed to your interests.

So if you’re tired of scrolling past content that doesn’t interest you, be sure to take advantage of the new ‘Not Interested’ control on Instagram. It can help make your feed a more enjoyable experience.

The future of Instagram in the Metaverse

Recently at a House of Instagram event, the team of Business Marketing shared exciting ideas on how Instagram will evolve as a bridge into the Metaverse.

According to Instagram, there are now more than 1,2 million AR filters in the Meta platform, and 82% of the users have already used or interacted with a filter in the past year. Especially due to the big adoption of the Instagram Reels.

Reels grew 30% quarter over quarter in 2022.

– House of Instagram event

As you most probubly know, Meta is betting on this big idea of a new computing social platform, the Metaverse, but until now, we did not see any actuall use case.

Here are some ideas that can help you get a glimpse into what’s coming:

• Live events – enabling people to have virtual experience live on events in different locations worldwide,
• Virtual presences – call or meet anybody anywhere in the Metaverse,
• Immerse experiences for brands – brands will be able to create games, present products in an immersive format, make fashion shows, etc., and bring their customer community to engage in a new environment.

Please check the video from the event for a more in-depth understanding.

Hidden Gem: Instagram Posts and Stories Archives

Instagram wants to ensure every user has access to their stories, so the platform has a very user-friendly Archive where people can access all their stories and posts.

To access the Instagram stories archive, simply go to your profile page and tap on the three dots in the upper right-hand corner. From there, select “Archive.” This will take you to a page where all of your past stories are saved. You can view them by date or story type (image, video, or Boomerang), and even download them to your phone if you want to keep them permanently.

If you’re someone who likes to save their Instagram stories, or if you want to be able to look back on them later, the archive feature is a great way to do that. Just remember that once you archive a story, it will no longer be visible to other people unless you choose to share it again.

The hidden gem here is the ability to view also the Posts archive. To do this, you can tap on the top middle dropdown and choose Posts archive.

You can then see all the posts you’ve made in chronological order. You can also download these images, which is a neat feature if you want to keep a record of what you’ve posted on Instagram.

To download an image or video, simply tap on the three dots in the top right corner of the post and choose Download.

Top Instagram Updates in August 2022

‘Add yours’ sticker now available in Reels

‘Add yours’ sticker allows creators to post an interesting Reels video, and with this sticker, they will help their followers to continue the story with their own view on the topic within the Reel. It is very creative to invite different people to contribute with their videos.

It can be used to show Reels from an event, to create a trend by people joining with their own interpretation, or simply to see different points of view on a certain topic.

This sticker is a great way for people to connect and share their creativity with each other. It is also a great way to get people involved in your Reel and get them interested in your work.

On top of this, Instagram will reward the creators that will create a trend and will promote their names with a ‘started by’ label, so it’s a great way to get your name out there.

Add yours sticker is very easy to apply. Just tap the “Sticker” icon and select the sticker you want to add. Then, tap the “Add” button. That’s it! Your sticker will be added to your photo.

Launching NFTs to more Instagram users

Early this year, Instagram announced a capability for NFT creators to share digital collectibles on the platform and increase awareness of their art and project.

And now, they are expanding this feature to more and more Instagram users across 100 countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and the Americas.

To post a digital Collectibles, users can now connect a digital wallet to Instagram, such as third-party wallets including Rainbow, MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Coinbase Wallet, and Dapper Wallet. Supported blockchains at this time include Ethereum, Polygon, and Flow.

There are no fees; sharing NFTs is free on Instagram.

9:16 vertical photos are coming on Instagram

On a recent Q&A with Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, he was asked if new cool photo features were planned to be released.

He confirmed that in the coming weeks, they would be testing tall photos – 9:16, making photos with a similar format as the trending vertical video formats.

Stay tuned.

Instagram Reels Bonus Play

Instagram announced a new bonus program called Reels Play that rewards creators who make engaging. Reels videos

It is a new way for creators to earn money based on the number of plays on their Reels. At the moment, this program is available for creators that are eligible based on this criteria:

• Live in the US
• Have less than 1 million followers
• Have an Instagram professional account
• Follow Instagram Partner’s Monetization policies

How to get started?

If you are elidable, you will see the invitation in your Professional Dashboard in your Instagram Profile. Accept it and follow the steps to set it up.

Top Instagram Updates in July 2022

New Instagram Reels Templates and New Dual Features

Instagram is getting very serious about helping every user create Reels.

They can finally do this very efficiently by providing pre-built Reels templates that everybody can use and create a Reel very fast.

This is a great way to inspire people and help them create Reels, even if they have no idea how they work.

Reels Templates are very easy to use. Just click Use template and your own magic and create the Reel.

We believe that with Templates, we can see more and more adoption of the Reels video format.

Dual: In addition to the new Reels templates, users can now record their take on what’s happening. This means you can simultaneously use the phone’s front and back camera to record a video of both perspectives.

New Instagram Maps update

Instagram is making improvements to the Map functionality. The new update includes an option to search for local businesses by category.

With the new Instagram search map, you can find businesses near you and get more information about them. This can be useful when you’re looking for a specific type of business or want to explore what’s nearby.

To use the new Instagram search map, simply search for a city or a nearby location:

• Once you are on the Map zoom out and click Search this area
• The search results will bring local businesses categorized by their industry or type
• You can click on Hotels, Cafes, etc

We believe this is just the beginning for Instagram Maps, and we will see more features in the future.

Instagram Subscriptions New Features

Creators are at the core of the future innovation at Instagram.

They are the ones who are driving its growth, and the team behind Instagram is making a huge bet on the creators’ economy.

And the core of the win-win success is, of course, the tools that Instagram can provide in order to help them make more money.

One of these tools is Subscriptions, which was announced in mid-January and is already available to some beta users.

Subscriptions are a great way to enable creators get recurring revenue and have a sustainable stream of income.

Now, Instagram announced new updates and an extension of Subscriptions. Here is what’s new:

• Subscriber Chats – ability to invite subscribers to a group chat
• Subscriber Reels – option to post Instagram Reels for subscribers only
• Subscriber Posts – option to post Instagram Reels for subscribers only
• Subscriber Home – new tab in the profile for all content available only to subscribers.

This update means that creators can provide unique content only available to their Subscribers. This content can be in the form of Reels or Instagram posts that is only visible to subscribers.

There is also a special place in the Creator’s profile where all the Subscription related content will be accessible to the subscribers.

Top Instagram Updates in June 2022

Instagram launches new ways for people to confirm their age

There are three options:

1. You can upload your ID
2. Social vouching – Instagram will suggest you 6 people that are mutual followers, that are 18 or over themselves, and who are meeting a series of other criteria, and you can pick 3 people. Then, Instagram is going to ask them to verify your age on your behalf.
3. Face-based age prediction, for which Instagram is partnering with Yoti – You will be asked to send a short video selfie, and then Instagram will send that image over to their partner Yoti. They will use that selfie to predict your age. There is no facial recognition, so there is no way to tell what your identity is. This photo will be used just to predict your age. Yoti will send this photo back to Instagram and then delete it. That way, Instagram is protecting people’s privacy.

Updates to Instagram captions for Reels

Auto-generated captions on Reels

When you upload an Instagram Reel, auto-generated captions will automatically be turned on. With this feature, Instagram is making the process of captioning content more seamless for creators while making Instagram more accessible for members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities, in addition to people who consume videos with sound off.

• How does it work?

When uploading an IG video auto captions will be turned on automatically. To turn off the audio captions, tap “Advanced Settings” in the upload flow and toggle “Captions” off by clicking the switch. This will automatically disable captions for all of your videos going forward. When viewing a video, you can tap on the overflow menu and select “Manage Captions” to access a switch to turn on and off captions.

AR Closed Captions

Instagram is launching new, stylized closed caption AR effects for Reels that let you easily elevate your video in fun and creative ways. Now you can turn dialogue into humorous, fun, and engaging closed captions that look like a text message chat (Bubble Captions), spew from your mouth (Mumble Captions), or that look straight out of a comic book (Comic Captions). All three new closed caption effects are accessible from the effects gallery.

• How does it work?

Open the Instagram camera and either before recording or after uploading from the gallery, tap the effects icon. Search for Bubble Captions, Mumble Captions, or Comic Captions. Tap the effect you want to use and record with the effect or apply the effect to your uploaded gallery content.

Want to do more with your Instagram reels? Learn how to embed Instagram Reels widget on your website.

3 New audio features in Instagram Reels

1. Adjust volume and add voiceover – You can find them by clicking the song note icon on the preview screen after you’ve uploaded your reel.
2. Import audio – You can import audio from any reel that you have in your library and overlay it onto your video.
3. Text-to-Speech – Sometimes you don’t want to hear the sound of your own voice, so you can just type text in and a fun voice will read it right over your video.

Instagram is testing Creators Marketplace

Instagram just announced that they are testing its new creator marketplace.

This feature will allow creators to connect with brands for branded content partnerships, directly within the app.

The goal of the marketplace is to help creators indicate their interests and select brands they’re interested in partnering with.

On the other side, it will also help brands easily discover, connect, and collaborate with creators.

Plus, the marketplace will enable brands to securely pay the most strategic creators for their branded content partnerships.

This is a great opportunity for both creators and brands to connect and create amazing content!

Here is how it will work:

Creators can define your interests

Creators will have an option to define what are their interests and select up to 10 items that mostly qualify the profile of the creator.

By doing this, the platform will easily match what type of creators a particular brand is looking for.

Collaboration Projects

Brands will have the option to send projects to selected creators all within the Instagram app and in a simple message. The creator can view all the details including the payment rate and they can choose to accept or reject the project.

Get proposals in partnerships folder

After a brand expresses interest in working with a particular creator, they can reach out with the project and the creator will receive the it within a separate Partnerships tab in their Primary inbox in the Instagram app.

Payments

And of course, Instagram will process the payments for a project, meaning that creators will be able to receive their payment within the Instagram app.

Parental control on Instagram – 4 new updates

• Parental control is rolling out in 7 more countries worldwide: the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Ireland, Canada, France, and Germany.
• Parents can initiate the supervision of their teen’s Instagram account, and both parent and teen must agree to switch on the feature.
• Parents can set periods during the week, i.e., times and days when their teen can’t use Instagram.
• Parents will be provided information when their teen reports something on Instagram. The data will include who and what they have specifically reported.

Take a break feature

It lets you know how much you have spent on Instagram and encourages you to do something else rather than spending time on Instagram.

Encourages creators to raise awareness about mental health and well-being

Launching Nudges

If you spend too much time on one topic, Instagram will let you know that you consumed too much time on that one topic and suggest you explore another topic.

Tis is very helpful for discovering more interesting things on Instagram and getting more from the platform.

New Features for Creators on Instagram

As creators are becoming significant users of Instagram, the platform has done tons of new features designed explicitly for Creators.

Extending Reels videos

From 60 to 90 seconds now, users can create videos on REels that are 90 seconds long

Import your own audio in Reels

This heavily requested feature allows users to record anything and use that as audio to their Reels videos.

Interactive stickers in Reels

Quiz, emoji sliders, and poll stickers are coming to Reels, making them more interactive as the Stories are.

Grid pinning

An ability to pin photos to the top of the grid in the profile.

It is allowed to pin up to 3 photos or videos.

To start pinning, just follow these steps:

1. go to the post you want to pin,
2. Tap the 3 dots in the top-right corner
3. Choose ‘Pin to your profile’

Updates for Sensitive Content Control On Instagram

Last year Instagram launched the Sensitive Control Center, where users can define the level of sensitive content that will appear in discover from accounts they dont follow.

With the new update, and in addition to Explore, Instagram is giving more options to control sensitive accounts in Search, Accounts You Might Follow, Reels, Hashtag Pages, and In-Feed Recommendations.

Now the Sensitive Content Control center has three options: “More,” “Standard,” and “Less.”

• “Standard” is the default state and will prevent people from seeing some sensitive content and accounts.
• “More” enables people to see more sensitive content and accounts,
• “Less” will see less of this content than the default state.

For people under 18, the “More” option is unavailable.

To access these options, just tap Settings > Tap Account > Choose Sensitive Content Control > And choose one of the 3 options.

Support Amber Alerts on Instagram

Instagram is launching Amber Alerts in 25 countries around the world. If you are in an area where a child is missing, you will see an Amber Alert.

The Alert includes:

• A photo of the missing child
• Details about the missing child
• Contact details to report any information about the child

Instagram supports Amber Alerts as a partnership with the National center for missing and exploited children.

Top Instagram Updates in May 2022

Quote request on Instagram

At the recent Conversations event, Meta announced that they are testing the ‘Quote request’ feature to allow businesses to add a ‘Get Quote’ button on their Instagram profile.

Additionally, the ‘Get Quote’ sticker will be available in Instagram stories, which will allow Instagram users to quickly request a quote about a particular product or service that the brand is promoting on their Instagram account.

The functionality will allow users to add custom questions that they can ask the customer prior to the conversion in their Instagram Direct messages.

With this feature, Instagram is expanding its lead generation and customer acquisition tools.

New Instagram update rolled out

The new update of the Instagram posts format that we reported a few weeks ago is now fully rolled out, and the users are sending their initial impressions.

Just a reminder, Instagram did a major update of how all the posts, videos, or images appear in the main feed. All posts display in a vertical full-screen format with this new update. The change impacts the square format of the photos as now they show a blended background that corresponds with the image color.

Plus, Instagram updated the way the image carousels slide. Now users need to actuall swipe instead to tap and go to the next image – making it difficult for the users to adopt this new change.

Related to this, some of the users are already complaining that this change messed up the previous design of their feeds and are not big fans of this new update.

What about you?

Refreshed Instagram branding and logo

If you have updated the Instagram mobile app recently, you might have noticed the lighter version of the Instagram app logo.

It is not a glitch or a mistake. It is a new, refreshed update of the Instagram branding that includes

• lighter color palate
• new Instagram Sans font
• bold creator-focused imaginary

Watch the video below to see all the changes. Or visit brand.instagram.com to see all the changes in the Instagram branding.

Content accessibility features on Instagram

According to the World Health Organization, 2.2 billion people have ‘ disabling’ hearing loss, and 285 million+ people are with vision impairments.

And for the past years, Instagram has been making tons of app improvements on iOS and Android to make sure it meets the accessibility needs.

To encourage creators to make sure their content is also accessible, here is the Isntagram/s official Accessibility One-Pager with tips on how to use

• Auto-generated Captions on Instagram Video
• Captions Sticker on Stories & Reels
• Translations in Feed, Profile & Stories
• Alternative Text for Posts

NFTs on Instagram

Instagram just launched a new functionality for NFT creators and collectors to share their NFTs on Instagram.

This is a huge step in the development of the creator economy. Why? Well, it is directly stimulating the creators to make money out of their work.

Now there are different Instagram monetization options, but a very interesting niche is the NFT community and the collectors or creators of these unique digital tokens.

To become part of the NFT community, Instagram announced a simple way for people to share NFTs they bought – in Stories, messages, or Feed.

Instagram is a centralized platform but is aimed to learn from the community and better understand the new web 3.0 decentralized web.

New immerse experience in the Home Feed

Instagram/s CEO announced that they are testing a new immerse experience in the main Home feed in the Instagram app.

This means that video will become a bigger part of the feed, and takes up bigger space. Both photos and videos will take more of your screen – will have a taller format

The goal of these feed changes is to learn how people prefer to interact on mobile and if this 9:16 format is proven to be better for a mobile-first experience. Well, if we compare it with TikTok we can see that they are already full-screen by default, and maybe this change comes as an influence of the competition.

Here are some of the initial comments about these changes:

it’s really important for us creators to understand how many people this effects. when I edit a video and photo, i need to know where to draw your eye to, where to put certain text graphics. for not everyone to have the same experience is really frustrating

@jeremyjacobowitz

I don’t love it. It feels a bit crowded and too hard to comment / meaningfully engage.

@blairimani

Top Instagram Updates in April 2022

Expanding Product Tagging in Instagram Feed to Everyone

On April 18th, 2022 Instagram announced that the product tagging feature is now available for anyone in the U.S.

This feature was previously accessible only to creators and brands and now everyone can use it for tagging products in their feed.

With this update users in the U.S will be able to tag a brand and then specify a product on their published feed posts. People that tap on the product tag will see detailed information about the product. They can also purchase the product directly from the app or through the brand’s product detail page.

How to add Product tags:

1. Start by creating a post on the Feed
2. Tap ‘Tag people’
3. Search for the brand and tag it first. Two options should show up at the bottom – ‘People’ & ‘Products’.
4. Tap ‘Products’
5. Tap your photo to start tagging products. Use descriptions to find the product and then specify any styles or colors. When you are done tap to add a tag.
6. Share the post on your feed

For now, product tagging is only available for posts to the feed but Instagram is working on enabling this feature for stories in the near future.

Instagram updates editing tools for reels

In case you didn’t notice, Instagram recently updated the editing tools on one of their most popular features – Instagram reels. This update should help you trim and re-arrange your video clips within the Reels composer easier than before.

Now you can reorder, delete and trim each of your clips in just a few taps.

How it works:

1. Go to your Instagram app and open Reels camera
2. Record a video or upload an existing one from your gallery
3. Proceed to ‘preview video clips‘ and tap edit clips on the bottom left corner
4. You can tap the reorder button to enter reorder mode and use drag and drop to delete or reorder your clips.
5. If you want you can add more clips by tapping on the ‘add clips button‘
6. After you are finished with editing post your Reel!

New Hashtag Experience

Recently, Instagram launched new hashtag options for Instagram users to support, fundraise and spread the word about an important social cause.

Here is what’s new:

Working with relevant organizations, Instagram defines which of these hashtags are relevant and represent an actual cause.

Furthermore, each of the hashtags gets a destination, like a dedicated hashtag page where the users will be able to create a fundraiser or share to spread across their network.

This means that now you will be able to search for hashtags like #blacklivesmatter, #womensrights, or #climateaction and get to their own dedicated pages.

Currently, this is relevant for causes in the US only, starting with 35 hand-picked hashtags.

New messaging features

As announced this year, Instagram will focus more and more on messaging as a crucial feature of making the network more engaging for its users.

The latest Instagram updates include a few new hidden gems to improve messaging. Here they are:

Active now – On the top of your inbox, you will see a showcase of the active friends at the moment, so you can choose who to chat with now.

@Silent – using this option, you can send the DM, but it will not send a push notification to the person you are writing to. This is useful if you write late at night and don’t want to disturb them.

Quick Sent – if you are scrolling the feed and find content you want to DM to your friends, now you can long tap on the Arrow icon, and it will popup icons from your friends that when you tap on their avatar it will quickly send the link to the post into their DM.

New music sharing – with the integration with Apple, Amazon Music, and soon with Spotify, will allow users from these apps to share a 30-second clip of a song to their friends in an Instagram DM.

Top Instagram Updates in March 2022

Instagram introduces a new Enhanced tag feature for giving credit to creators.

Instagram announced a new feature named Enhanced tags that enables you to tag all the contributors and collaborators in your post.

This means that now you can give credit to all people “behind the scenes”. You can tag the makeup artists, photographers, designers in your post and make it easier for them to be recognized as creators and find new opportunities.

“For many Black and underrepresented creators, crediting is an entryway to building a sustainable career as a creator, while combating cultural appropriation and ensuring the world knows who is driving culture.”

Instagram announcment.

How to start using the enhanced tags feature?

Open the Instagram app and tap the (+) in the top right corner

• Create a new Post and tap Next
• Make any edits and tap Next
• After adding a caption, tap Tag People
• Select Add Tag to search and select your contributors
• Tap Show Profile Category to display the creator category
• Tap Done

Once you’ve added (if any) additional tags and details, tap Share.

That’s it. The tags with the creators’ category on Instagram will appear on the post. When tapped on a tag, a bottom drawer will appear with direct links to follow the tagged users.

Top Instagram Updates in February 2022

Finally, Meta launched the long-awaited 3D avatars that have already rolled out to users in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

3d Avatars are a new visual representation of the users’ more dynamic identities than the static social media profiles.

The idea behind the avatars is to create them in the Instagram, Facebook, or Messenger apps. Still, it can take them across the Metaverse together with all your digital belongings, such as clothes, collectibles, bags, etc.

To get started, follow the detailed guide to create your 3d avatar.

Top Instagram Updates in January 2022

Scheduling Live in Instagram profile

The option to go Live on Instagram is available for some time. And with this new add-on, users are able to separate the Live from their posts or Stories and schedule it on their profile.

To make this feature more visible, Profiles will get a badge with the information of the schedule live. Plus their followers will be able to opt in to get a notification the moment the Live is available.

Subscriptions

This is big for creators and influencers, and it’s a new way for them to make more money on Instagram and with bigger predictability.

Subscriptions allow creators to monetize and become closer to their followers through exclusive experiences

Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram

Subscriptions are the best way to be sure that the revenue for the creators will be solely dependent on their content and not on the reach or other parameters.

This new feature is currently rolled out to selected users and hopefully will expand to more creators soon.

Subscriptions basically will allow three different types of content that people can subscribe to:

• Subscriber Lives – creatorss go live only to their subscribers
• Subscriber Stories – will be marked with a purple ring so subscribers will know that they are published solllely for them
• Subscriber Badges – subscribers will get a purple badge so the creators will differentiate them in DMs and comments.

In short, followers will pay a monthly subscription to exclusive content that their favorite creators publish – like unique Live videos or Instagram stories available only to the subscribers.

As the creators own the subscriber list, they should be able to export it to other platforms. Adam pointed out that they are working on allowing creators to bring their subscribers on other platforms or apps, so they are not dependent on Instagram.

Chronological order of the feed