Instagram today unveiled a number of new features aimed at making it simpler for users to keep up with their real-world friends amid criticism over the introduction of algorithmic, recommended material into the Instagram feed.
The business is now implementing a number of substantial improvements, most notably the addition of Notes, which, according to a recent press article, Meta had explored making into a rival to Twitter.
Users can update their friends on Notes using only text and emoji, providing an alternative social update format to Instagram’s most popular image and video formats.
There are other updates coming to Stories that will offer new group-sharing options.
Instagram Notes is possibly the most intriguing of the newly announced capabilities because it gives a way to engage with others solely through text.
However, the current implementation has a very distinct user experience, despite the evident similarity to a site like Twitter.
Persons can post comments on Instagram by clicking the top of their inbox, choosing the users they follow back (also known as mutuals), and then choosing additional users from their existing “Close Friends” list.
The note will then be typed up using just 60 text or emoji characters. For 24 hours, the note will be at the top of friends’ inboxes, and any responses will come in the form of DMs.
Instagram claimed that throughout testing it discovered users valued having a simple option to initiate discussions.
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