Can’t keep up with all the latest changes to Instagram? Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. Here’s a quick summary of what’s coming to Instagram, and more information on what’s just arrived.
Tools to protect users against abuse
One of Instagram’s biggest incoming updates is a new filter to block abusive messages from reaching your DMs in the first place. It will automatically block requests featuring words you don’t want to see, including offensive words, phrases or emojis. You’ll be able to specify what words and phrases you don’t want incoming, much like a mute list on Twitter.
Another potentially helpful feature is an update to the block function, meaning you’ll be able to block both a user’s account and any accounts they may create in future. How effective this will be is another matter, depending on the criteria Instagram uses to determine how the accounts are linked to each other.
New sticker types incoming?
Love your Instagram Stories? Rumour has it that a new ‘Link’ sticker will be coming to Stories, letting you add a link anywhere on the screen. At the moment, only accounts with 10,000+ followers can add a link to their Stories, and it’s not yet clear whether or not the link sticker will be available to anyone. If it is, it’ll be a gamechanger for brands who are just starting out on the platform.
The other sticker that looks like it’ll be making an appearance is the Super Mention sticker, which would be linked to Instagram’s tools for creators, and potentially an extension of the Badges that users can buy during live streams to make their message more visible.
Show/hide your like counts
Over the next few weeks, Instagram will be launching a new test with selected profiles to let users enable a like count or hide it for specific posts. Instagram took steps to remove like counts from posts a couple of years ago, so that only the original poster could see how many likes a post received, in an effort to combat the pressure that such visible metrics can have in young people. As part of the test, users will also be able to hide like counts on other people’s posts.
COVID vaccine stickers for stories
And of course, if you’ve got your jab, you can now show off your vaccination status to all your Instagram friends with some handy new stickers in the stories. If you share a story with the ‘I Got Vaccinated’ sticker, the app will collect it into one big story with all the people you follow who have also had their jabs. Chances are if you haven’t seen it yet, you’re too young.
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