Instagram might soon allow users to receive two factor authentication (2FA) codes for identity verification on their WhatsApp account.
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A bipartisan coalition of 44 attorneys general have written to Facebook and urged it to drop the ‘Instagram for Kids’ project.
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Ahead of the Facebook deadline to accept the new terms, I decided…
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Instagram Live will let participants of a live broadcast to turn off the mic or kill their video feed if they so desire.
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Instagram’s next big step is to help its creators make more money. The company is working on a range of tools including Creator Shops, affiliate commerce, and a “branded content marketplace.” The Creator shops will be part of the eCommerce push. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg announced the move while speaking with Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram during a live stream on the app.
Starting with Creator Shops, it would be an extension of Instagram’s current shopping features. These are meant to allow businesses to sell products. “We see a lot of creators setting up shops too, and one part of being a content creator business model is you create great content, and then you can sell stuff, and so having creator shops is awesome,” Zuckerberg said.
Moreover, the company is working on a “branded content marketplace.” It is said to help match influencers with sponsors. As per Zuckerberg, this kind of tool could enable up-and-coming talent by letting them monetize. Hence, helping them in creating a kind of “creator middle class.” However, the company official didn’t reveal how these deals might be structured. He said that the plan is to offer “very favorable terms” to creators. “We’re not building this from the perspective of us trying to make a lot of money.”
Further, the company is working on paying more to influencers for promoting products. As Zuckerberg said, creators “should be able to get a cut of the sales of things that they’re recommending and we should build up an affiliate recommendation marketplace to enable that to all happen.” Hence, Instagram will embed affiliate marketing into its product.
As of now, these new tools are a work in progress. While many users already run online shops and form brand partnerships, these kinds of deals mostly happen off-platform. Therefore, Instagram is working on embedding these tools in the app to give the company more control over its creator ecosystem.
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In a move that is not surprising at all, Facebook is going to milk yet another avenue that is getting popular these days. We’re talking about Reels here, the TikTok-copycat that was recently released on Instagram. The social media giant has today announced that it will start testing Reels ads in India, Germany, and Australia, and will expand to other markets in the coming months.
You can reply, like, save, and skip these Reels ads
Just like the Reels themselves, these ads will be full-screen and will last up to 30 seconds. Instagram says that Reel ads will also be immersive, and they will also allow viewers to like, share as well as comment on them just like a regular Reel video. Moreover, these ads can also be skipped and saved too. Here’s the official explanation behind the idea of ads in Reels:
But Facebook is not just stopping at exploiting Reels for some ad money on Instagram. The social media behemoth has revealed that in the coming weeks, it will start testing custom sticker ads on Facebook Stories among a handful of creators and advertising partners. These stickers will allow creators to monetize their Stories as they will get a cut of revenue from sales generated by them. These stickers will be designed by brands and creators will have the freedom to use them in their stories howsoever they like for maximum engagement.
Facebook is also kicking off a global test of what it calls In-Stream Video Topics. Essentially, these are in-stream ads that have generated video topics to assist businesses in finding the right video for advertising their products and services. Initially, Facebook will offer 20 topics and 700 sub-topics, making it easier for businesses to pinpoint the right videos that can generate maximum revenue and engagement.
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Earlier this year in February, Instagram announced that those who frequently send abusive messages will have their accounts disabled, and new accounts created to get around the ban will also get the same treatment. Back then, the company revealed that it is working on more ways to curb hate speech in your inbox. Today, the company has outlined a few additional steps to ensure that users don’t get to see such harassing messages in the first place. There is also a new system that prevents someone from sending you messages from another account once you’ve blocked them.
Starting with the preventive measure first, there is now a new tool called ‘Hide Message Requests’ that will automatically hide message requests if they contain offensive words. This works in the same way as filters for comments, and will automatically check for phrases, words, or emojis in message requests before you see them. All such DM Requests are moved to the hidden requests by default so that users don’t see them and get emotionally traumatized.
Instagram is adding a dedicated section called Hidden Words where you can enable the aforementioned filtering behavior for both DM requests and comments. It is not a fool-proof method to stop the menace of harassment in DMs, but it still gives some level of preemptive control in the hands of users. A lot of it has to do with the fact that DMs are private conversations, and Instagram is unable to monitor and regulate them for violating hate speech guidelines in the same fashion as public conversations like posts and comments.
The other new feature that Instagram is adding to its platform in the coming weeks for users all across the world is preventing people from contacting you once they’ve been blocked. If you’ve blocked someone on the platform, you will now have the option to also block that individual from reaching out to you using a new account in the future.
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In March this year, some Instagram users started noticing that the like count on their posts was abruptly gone. Well, it was not due to a glitch, but actually part of a new test. Instagram chief Adam Mosseri later admitted that keeping the number of likes private from others is a polarizing idea, but the company was looking to implement it in some other way. Today, Mosseri revealed that the company is resuming the test, but with a slightly different approach.
Focus less on the number of likes, and spend more time connecting with people
The Instagram chief mentioned in a tweet that for a handful of users in the test circle, the company is allowing them to choose whether or not they choose to see the number of likes on someone else’s posts. In addition to it, users will be able to choose if they want to hide the like counts on their own posts. However, users in the test circle will have the option to keep their Instagram UI untouched, just as they are used to without any complexities around the likes counts.
We’re testing this on Instagram to start and we’re exploring a similar experience for Facebook too.
More to share about this soon.
— Adam Mosseri
(@mosseri) April 14, 2021
But Instagram is not the only platform that is experimenting with hidden likes. Parent company Facebook is also running a similar test on its eponymous social media platform that recently saw the data of over half a billion users leaked online. However, neither Instagram nor Facebook, have given any indication whether hidden likes will become a permanent feature anytime soon. Instagram recently made it clear that the feature will be made available to users who think it is useful.
The number of likes often stresses out users, especially the young ones
In my opinion, the feature should actually be rolled out widely. Public like counts often add more pressure, especially on the young user base, who might otherwise reel under the stress of not being popular enough. Mosseri said back in 2019 that the company wants users to ‘worry a little bit less about how many likes they’re getting on Instagram, and spend a bit more time connecting with the people they care about.’
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TikTok has introduced a new feature that gives a huge boost to the accessibility aspect on its platform – auto captions. As the name makes it abundantly clears, users with hearing impairment will now be able to see automatically generated captions for videos they’re watching. The new trick will also come in handy for regular users when it comes to watching videos in scenarios where they can’t turn on the volume.
Creators can edit these captions, while viewers to can choose to see them or not
To show captions on a video, creators have to enable the automatic captioning feature after they’ve uploaded their video. The aforementioned option appears on the editing page, where creators can also edit the automatically generated captions to more accurately represent what is being said in their videos. TikTok says that captions are a part of videos, however, viewers will have the option to turn them off or on.
In order to turn off these automatically generated captions, open the share panel, tap on the new captions button and select the off option. Auto captions currently offer support only for English and Japanese. However, TikTok says it is working to add support for more languages so that it can be helpful for users speaking varied languages from all across the world in the coming months.
The new auto-captioning feature will complement the text-to-speech feature that is already accessible to users. A few other accessibility features that are available on TikTok include the ability to show warning for content that may trigger a photosensitive epilepsy response as well as the ability to filter out such content and prevent it from appearing in your content feed.
However, TikTok’s archrival Instagram is also testing its own version of automatic video captioning. The Facebook-owned company confirmed last week that automatic captioning is currently being tested internally, but there is no word when it will be released widely for all users. Zoom recently made its auto-captioning feature free for all users, while Google’s Live Captions feature is already available widely, even for audio and video calls on Pixel phones.
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Irrespective of whether you’re a TikTok stan or an Instagram fan from its early days, there is something that users of both platforms can agree upon – Instagram has been ripping off TikTok and its popular features for a while now. Instagram recently mimicked TikTok’s short-form video format and created Reels. And now, Instagram is copying the Duet feature from TikTok and is adding it to Reels under a different name. Instagram is calling this ‘new’ feature Remix.
Say hello to Remix
If you’re unfamiliar, Duet allows users to react to another video by posting their own video side-by-side. Instagram is replicating the same formula with Remix for Reels. “Now you can use the Remix feature in Reels to create your own reel next to one that already exists,” says the Facebook-owned company.
More on how to use it
pic.twitter.com/IQaRtH4pUN
— Instagram (@instagram) March 31, 2021
In order to create a Remix, open on a Reels video, tap on the menu (three-dot icon in the top-right corner) and then select Remix This Reel option from the window that pops up. Now, you’ll see a vertical side-by-side layout of the original Reel and your own view on the right to record your reaction. You can add background audio, use creative effects and alter the playback speed among other things while creating a Remix.
Users can Remix their own Reels, but they can’t remix a remixed Reel.
However, a creator has to allow remixing their Reels for others to create a Remix of it. Users can Remix their own Reels, but they can’t do the same with a video that is already a Remix. In case someone creates a Remix of your Reel, Instagram will notify you about the same. Moreover, Remixes of your Reels will get deleted if you set your account to Private type for more than 24 hours.
A weird caveat is that if someone has created a Remix of your Reel, they can download the video. However, you can’t download that Remix video. Also, if you disable remixing of your Reels, all remixes created before you changed the settings will continue to exist on Instagram, unless you delete your original Reel. You can check out the detailed instruction on how you can enable or disable remixing of your Reels on the official support page.
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Instagram has today announced that it will soon let users save their stories as a draft. The feature was confirmed by Instagram chief Adam Mosseri, however, the company has not revealed when exactly the ability to save a story as a draft will be rolled out widely. Right now, you can only save a post or Reels as a draft on Instagram.
You asked and we’re delivering… story drafts coming soon
— Adam Mosseri
Developer Alessandro Paluzzi has shared a few screenshots showing how the feature might look when it goes live. While posting a story, if users press the back button, they’ll see a Discard Media warning window that shows three options: Discard, Cancel, and a new Save Draft button. Right now, if you press the back button while trying to share a post or Reel, you’ll only see two options: Discard and Keep.
Let’s take a look at the upcoming Story Draft feature in #Instagram
https://t.co/kA3DeWIIXm pic.twitter.com/CT8ORvIn5R
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) March 23, 2021
Once you choose to save a story as a draft, you can access it later on from the dedicated drafts section that appears when you hit the compose button. However, do keep in mind that the screenshots shared by Paluzzi have either been extracted after digging into the code, or he is part of a test circle. Either way, the UI of the Story draft feature might look different when it becomes available to all users via the stable channel. We’ll keep you posted as and when this useful feature is rolled out.
Another cool trick that Instagram is currently testing for Stories is automatic captioning. The feature comes to life via a ‘Captions’ sticker for stories that is currently being internally tested. Even though Instagram has confirmed the aforementioned feature that will give a big boost to the accessibility aspect on its platform, it is unclear when it will exit the internal testing phase and becomes widely available for all users.
Additionally, the Facebook-owned company is also testing a safer version of Instagram for kids aged under 13, following in the footsteps of Messenger Kids. The goal is to create a safe social media space for kids where they can have a healthy conversation and avoid harmful interactions.
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Instagram is following in the footsteps of Facebook by creating a version of its platform tailored for kids under 13. Just a few days ago, Instagram outlined a new set of safety features to help parents ensure that their children have a healthy experience on the platform, and that kids under 13 should be kept from signing up from Instagram. As per BuzzFeed News, which cites an internal note written by VP of Products Vishal Shah, a version of Instagram for kids aged 13 or lower is currently under development.
Additionally, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri also confirmed the plans in an interview with BuzzFeed News. Mosseri mentioned that while the company prohibits children below 13 from signing up, it is a tricky task to identify their age, especially considering the fact most young users don’t get proper identification documents a tad late in their teens. To recall, parent company Facebook already has such a product called Messenger Kids, and it might serve as a template for Instagram to follow.
Instagram has lately come under the scanner for being one of the most toxic social media platforms that elevate stress, setting unrealistic expectations, bullying, and online abuse. Lately, the company has launched (or is actively testing) features that can curb the toxicity on the platform such as hidden likes and disabling accounts that send abusive messages, but a lot more needs to be done.
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About 76 percent of American teens age 13-17 use Instagram. Hence, it is the duty of the platform to keep them safe. Instagram has announced that it is introducing new policies, which aim to make the platform safer for the young users. It will now limit the interaction between teenagers and adults they don’t follow.
The adults won’t be allowed to direct message (DM) teenagers who don’t follow them. The platform is introducing “safety prompts” These will show up for teens when they try to DM adults who have been “exhibiting potentially suspicious behavior.”
Now, when an adult will try to message a teen who doesn’t follow them, they will receive a notification that DM’ing them isn’t an option. The feature relies on Instagram’s work to predict peoples’ ages using machine learning technology and the age that people provide when they sign up.
Instagram will be using prompts – or safety notices — to encourage teens to be cautious in conversations with adults they’re already connected to. These prompts will notify teen users when an adult who has been exhibiting potentially suspicious behavior is interacting with them in DMs. For instance, if an adult is sending a large amount of friend or message requests to people under 18, the platform will use this tool to alert the recipients within their DMs and give them an option to end the conversation, or block, report, or restrict the adult. These prompts will start appearing for users starting this month.
Moreover, Instagram is working on making it more difficult for adults to find and follow teens. The efforts may include things like restricting these adults from seeing teen accounts in ‘Suggested Users’, preventing them from discovering teen content in Reels or Explore, and automatically hiding their comments on public posts by teens.
The platform will also encourage young people to keep their accounts private. Teens can still opt for a public account if they choose to do so after learning more about the options. Instagram will send notifications if the teen doesn’t choose ‘private’ when signing up. In these notifications, it will highlight the benefits of a private account.
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Instagram has announced that it is introducing the COVID-19 Information Center globally. It will help connect people to more information about the pandemic from health authorities, directly on Instagram. It will help people access reliable information from trusted health experts based on their location, particularly in the US, UK, France, Germany, India and Chile. It will show who is eligible for the vaccine, information about prevention from trusted health organizations, and content disproving common vaccine myths.
The company says that it will be adding more information in the coming weeks, which will help people find out where they can get vaccinated, the number of COVID-19 cases in their area, and more.
You’ll start seeing notifications at the top of your feed. Instagram will direct you to the new COVID-19 Information Center, so you can quickly access credible information directly on Instagram.
The social media app is also introducing a new Stories sticker in the coming weeks to help people. It aims to help people show their support and share accurate information about the COVID-19 vaccine. The sticker will connect people directly to the Information Center.
Moreover, Instagram will start removing posts if they contain claims that violate its COVID-19 and vaccine policies. For posts that have not been debunked by health experts, the company will apply informational labels about vaccines and COVID-19 generally. These labels direct people to more credible information from health experts including the WHO and CDC. Now, these labels will provide more context at the post level.
“We’re continuing to expand our efforts to address COVID-19 vaccine misinformation by adding labels to Facebook and Instagram posts that discuss the vaccines,” wrote Facebook. “For example, we’re adding a label on posts that discuss the safety of COVID-19 vaccines that notes COVID-19 vaccines go through tests for safety and effectiveness before they’re approved.” These labels are rolling out globally in English, Spanish, Indonesian, Portuguese, Arabic and French, and the company will be adding additional languages in the coming weeks.
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Facebook first started testing Instagram Lite app in June 2018 in some parts of the world. The app was shut down in September 2020 but was soon resurrected later in the year. Now, in the first half of 2021, Facebook is bringing its 2MB Instagram Lite app to 170 more countries. It was recently launched in India to bring the core Instagram experience to people who are unfamiliar with the app. The app will be rolled out globally soon.
“During the past year, Instagram has become a lifeline for many to connect with loved ones or find a small moment of inspiration, be it a photo of a friend’s newborn or a video of puppies discovering snow,” Facebook wrote in a blog post.
The app is targeted towards the regions which do not possess the most up-to-date mobile devices, robust internet networks, or affordable data plans needed for the swift delivery of the data-rich videos and images found on Instagram.
“Our teams build these lightweight versions of our apps for people with low connectivity or limited data plans because our basic premise is to leave no one behind,” adds Tzach Hadar, Director of Product Management at Facebook Tel Aviv, one of the largest strategic engineering hubs for Facebook globally. “We wanted the Instagram experience to remain fast, high-quality, and reliable, irrespective of the device, platform, and network people are on.”
The 2MB Instagram Lite app retains the key features that people using entry-level devices want. Facebook says that its team focused on what people valued most, namely video and messaging. To keep the performance on this Lite app reliable, Facebook removed much of the ornate, data-rich animation, such as cube transitions and the AR filters people can apply to faces. It kept features that could deliver joy with less data, like GIFs and stickers.
For reference, when Instagram Lite launched in India, it didn’t have the Reels option. However, Facebook recently introduced Reels to the Lite app. That said, you still cannot create Reels on the Instagram Lite app but you can only view them.
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