Changes to Instagram

Instagram is making some changes, adding new services and features.  After its success with Instagram Stories, it again leans on Snap Chat for inspiration with the launch of their new app ‘Threads’. This complementary app to Instagram is yet another means for Instagram users to message friends. It allows users to message close friends pulled from their own Close Friends list on Instagram, a feature that lets users choose and control which friends they want to share their Stories with.

The app focusses specifically on messaging through disappearing photos and videos, not unlike Snap Chat. Other features include an inbox for messages, custom statuses and an automatic status tool that uses your location and phone data to let your friends know where you are (home, work, the movies) and if you’re low on battery.

There is also A ‘create’ mode for Instagram Stories that offers quizzes, polls with suggestions, a countdown timer, GIFs and an ‘On this day’ Throwback Thursday that will show a post from your feed you made on that day in past years.

Instagram also plans to offer the dark mode option that many users find appealing on other social media where dark mode is already a feature. This trend, which essentially turns the white default background to black and grey, is said to be easier on the eyes, saves battery (darker pixels require less power), is chic-looking and aesthetically pleasing and even helps with productivity as content stands out while more distracting features fade into the darker background. The feature is available through smartphone updates for Android and the recent iOS 13 update for iPhone users.