However, Instagram discontinued this version of Threads in December 2021, mainly due to most of its features being rolled out on Instagram itself, as well as low usage compared to other social media applications. The change was made official in October, with head of product Vishal Shah stating that the feature was underused and that some users were « surprised » when they realized their activity was being surfaced in this manner. In August 2019, Instagram also began to pilot the removal of the « Following » tab from the app, which had allowed users to view a feed of the likes and comments made by users they follow. The application was shut down and removed from app stores in March 2022, citing low usage and a shift to short-form video content. Users can take photos and edit them using built-in filters and other tools, then share them on other social media platforms like Facebook. Instagrama is an American photo and short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms.
Their study showed presence of depressive symptoms in a user could positively predict they would post. Khodarahimi & Fathi 2017 found evidence users displayed higher levels of depressive and anxious symptoms compared to non-users. 13% of British and 6% of American teenager users with suicidal thoughts could trace them to Instagram use.
In June 2021, Instagram launched a native affiliate marketing tool creators can use to earn commissions based on sales. In April 2019, Instagram added the option to « Checkout on Instagram », which allows merchants to sell products directly through the Instagram app. In February 2016, Instagram announced that it had 200,000 advertisers on the platform. In June 2014, Instagram announced the rollout of ads in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, with ads starting to roll out that autumn.
YouTube TV
A Meta-operated image-centric social media platform, it is available on iOS, Android, Windows 10, and the web. Join our newsletter to receive the latest news, trends, and features straight to your inbox! Privacy practices may vary based, for example, on the features you use or your age.
Censorship and restricted content
In May 2021, Instagram began allowing users in some regions to add pronouns to their profile page. In March 2021, Instagram launched a new feature in which four people can go live at once. In August 2020, Instagram began a pivot to video, introducing a new feature called « Reels ». Also in July 2019, Instagram announced that it would implement new features designed to reduce harassment and negative comments on the service. Mosseri stated that this was intended to have users « worry a little bit less about how many likes they’re getting on Instagram and spend a bit more time connecting with the people that they care about. » It has been argued that low numbers of likes in relativity to others could contribute to a lower self-esteem in users.
- In February 2016, Instagram announced that it had 200,000 advertisers on the platform.
- Recently Instagram has come up with an option for users to apply for a verified account badge; however, this does not guarantee every user who applies will get the verified blue tick.
- Instagram has since been accused of extending the practice to censor posts under vague and inconsistent circumstances, particularly in regards to sexually suggestive material.
- A 2021 study by Büttner & Rudertb showed that not being tagged in an Instagram photo triggers the feeling of social exclusion and ostracism, especially for those with higher needs to belong.
- The policy update also introduced an arbitration clause, which remained even after the language pertaining to advertising and user content had been modified.
- Users are more likely to engage with images that depict fewer individuals compared to groups and they are also more likely to engage with content that has not been watermarked, as they view this content as less original and reliable compared to user-generated content.
- The app includes some AI features and the ability to post directly to Instagram or Facebook.
User behavior
Since 2017, Instagram has employed the ability to reduce the prominence of accounts (« shadowbanning ») it believes may be generating non-genuine engagement and spam (including excessive use of unneeded hashtags), preventing posts from appearing in search results and in the app’s Explore section. However, in December 2021, Adam Mosseri, in a Senate hearing on child safety issues, stated that the company is developing a version of the feed that would show user posts in chronological order. In May 2016, Instagram launched new tools for business accounts, including business profiles, analytics and the ability to promote posts as ads. The feature allows users to verify their accounts to confirm their authenticity.Instagram began allowing users to request verification for their accounts in August 2018. Importantly, this feature will only display Story Highlights—curated collections of Stories saved by users—rather than standard Stories that disappear after 24 hours. In November, Instagram added live video functionality to Instagram Stories, allowing users to broadcast themselves live, with the video disappearing immediately after ending.
Google Photos: Backup & Edit
On September 3, 2025, Instagram launched a native iPadOS app, which before relied on the iOS app and did not utilize the larger screen size of tablets. Subsequent episodes in June and August 2024 featured Reneé Rapp, Rachel Sennott, Megan Thee Stallion and GloRilla. These changes are ostensibly an attempt to hinder the spread of misinformation, while Instagram has also repeatedly stated that hashtags do not help posts get views. In April 2022, Instagram began testing the removal of the ability to see « recent » posts from various hashtags.
- On March 11, 2022, Russia announced it would ban Instagram due to alleged « calls for violence against Russian troops » on the platform during the ongoing 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- On July 5th, 2023, Meta launched Threads, a social network platform connected to Instagram that allows users to make public shortform blog posts comprising text, photos, and videos, as well as to converse with other users and reblog other users’ posts.
- The leak included presentations seen by company executives, and the findings mentioned CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2020.
- The system is built using a Facebook-developed deep learning algorithm known as DeepText (first implemented on the social network to detect spam comments), which utilizes natural-language processing techniques, and can also filter by user-specified keywords.
- On January 2020, after the Assassination of Qasem Soleimani by the United States, Instagram removed posts expressing support for General Soleimani.
- The move garnered severe criticism from users, prompting Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom to write a blog post one day later, announcing that they would « remove » the offending language from the policy.
- In January 2017, Instagram launched skippable ads, where five-second photo and 15-second video ads appear in-between different stories.
Content ownership
Since February 2017, up to ten pictures or videos can be included in a single post, with the content appearing as a swipeable carousel. The move was seen as a way to prevent users from deleting photos that don’t garner a desired number of « likes » or are deemed boring, but also as a way to limit the « emergent behavior » of deleting photos, which deprives the service of content. The feature was updated in April 2017 to let users organize saved posts into named collections.
Product features
Users are more likely to engage with images that depict fewer individuals compared to groups and they are also more likely to engage with content that has not been watermarked, as they view this content as less original and reliable compared to user-generated content. Ongoing research continues to explore how media content on the platform affects user engagement. Following behind, college graduates consist of 18% and users with a high school diploma or less make up 15%.
The trends deemed the most popular on the platform often highlight a specific day of the week to post the material on. Users can set their account as « private », thereby requiring that they approve any new follower requests. In April 2024, Instagram announced that they would start testing new tools « within weeks » to fight sextortion, a form of blackmail involving intimate pictures sent online. In December 2023, Instagram launched a podcast titled « Close Friends Only » featuring conversations among celebrities. Also in February 2023, Zuckerberg announced https://www.cuscocasinoonline.nl/ that Meta would start selling blue « verified » badges on Instagram and Facebook. In September 2022, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission fined the company $402 million under privacy laws recently adopted by the European Union over how it handled the privacy data of minors.
Users can browse other users’ content by tags and locations, view trending content, like photos, and follow other users to add their content to a personal feed. The backlash originated from an Instagram post and Change.org petition created by photographer Tati Bruening (under the username @illumitati) on July 23, 2022, featuring the statement « Make Instagram Instagram again. (stop trying to be TikTok; i just want to see cute photos of my friends.) Sincerely, everyone. ». In 2019, Apple pulled an app which let users stalk people on Instagram by scraping accounts and collecting data. In December, the company began rolling out the abilities for users to turn off the comments and, for private accounts, remove followers.
Confirming ‘lurking’, this study found that those who use Reels for peeking neither created any content nor participated, instead they were only keen on watching others content. The research findings suggested that user motivations and socio-psychological predictors influence people’s usage behaviours with Instagram Reels. This study identified seven motivations behind Reels usage; socially rewarding self-promotion, entertainment, escape, surveillance, novelty, documentation, and trendiness. After a period of testing, a duration of up to three minutes was announced in January 2025. Then Instagram started rolling out a new feature with made Reels up to 90 seconds long beginning in June 2022.
Lub & Trub 2015 showed that following more strangers increases social comparisons and depressive symptoms. However, Frison & Eggermont 2017 found that, among boys and girls, browsing could predict depressive symptoms; liking and posting seemed to have no effect. The company stated it was looking into concerns raised by the regulators and parents. According to the research, Instagram has a higher impact on appearance comparison than TikTok or Snapchat. The leak included presentations seen by company executives, and the findings mentioned CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2020. Instagram caused the userbase to fall into outrage with the December 2018 update.