#News

Date: March 16, 2023

Here you will find the newest Instagram updates covered in real-time to provide you a quick insight into the modifications made to the social media platform.

A Statista report suggests that Instagram is expected to have 1.3 billion users across the globe by the end of 2023. These numbers were limited to 1.04 billion and by 2025, 1.44 billion users are expected to onboard the platform. 

Now, the success of this one of the leading social media platforms is credited to every phase of updates that had been applied on the platform. In this blog, for your better understanding, we are covering each and every update that has been made to Instagram since the app was initially launched. 

Instagram updates- 2010 to present

In this blog, we are listing down each and every update Instagram developers have released for this one of the most popular apps during different phases of the social media platform. The app releases updates to take over new markets, optimize user experience, and more. In this blog, we have decided to cover all updates happening to the app in real time. So, we recommend you bookmark this blog so you can instantly open the webpage and review newly released Instagram updates for your reference.

Now, without further ado, let’s have a look at this list of Instagram updates released since the original release of the 

2023- A new way to navigate

• Among the Instagram updates in 2023 released already, the app announced a revamp for its navigation bar. Instagram is planning to shift Create from the top portion of the navigation bar to the center bottom bar. Additionally, the shortcut for Reels will also replace the shop button and shift to the right. 
• On Feb 19, Meta announced a paid verification service for Instagram and Facebook users. The service is supposed to cost $11.99 (£9.96) a month on the web and $14.99 for iPhone users. However, the service is not yet available for businesses and this move will not affect users who are already verified by these platforms. 
• In Feb, Instagram added GIF support for comments. Now, users could reply to other Instagram users in comments by using GIFs using the GIPHY database. This update is being launched in phases.
• Instagram users can also turn on Quiet Mode now to silent notifications from the app. When Quiet Mode is on, users can focus better without getting distracted by Instagram alerts. The feature is launched in the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand with more countries being added in phases.
• Another new feature called Not Interested helps users in curating recommendations they see on their pages better. Clicking on Not Interested on a recommendation will help Instagram avoid showing it to the user in the future.
• Now users can now see their notifications by clicking on the Heart on the above right part of the UI.
   

2022- Introducing 3D avatars

• Instagram's new update added support for subscribers on the platform. Now creators could release exclusive content and organize exclusive sessions for subscribers on the platform.
• In January 2022, Instagram released 3D avatars that creators could use in stories and DMs. These avatars supported different skin shades, expressions, and outfits. 
• The platform rolled out the Your activity feature which allowed users to review comments, stories, likes, etc that they have made on the platform. 
• The Private Story Like was the latest Instagram app update launched which allowed users to tap on the heart icon on the story to like it instead of sending a like to the inbox every time they want to like a story.
• In-stream ads and the IGTV app were discontinued in 2022 as well.
• The Instagram latest update added a feature to create reels with stories that you have posted in the past. Users could edit slides and audio on these reels to customize them properly. 
• The Instagram latest news announced in March month of 2022 introduced automated captions for IG Feed videos to make them more accessible to everyone across the globe. The feature initially supported 17 languages. 
• With the announcement of Creator Lab, one of the top Instagram new features announced in 2022, creators now had the ability to monetize their IG content in various other ways.
• Seven new Instagram features were introduced with abilities like Replying to messages without opening inboxes, tab and hold to share posts faster to specific friends, reviewing who is online, sharing a 30-second song preview, using @silent to send messages without notifications, using lo-fi chat themes to create chill vibes, creating polls in group inboxes. 
• Newly released expanded tags provided users to display the professions of creators they tag on posts.
• The length of reels was also updated from 60 seconds to 90 seconds in 2022. 
• Instagram's new update now supported pinning feature posts on the top. Users could choose up to three posts to pin on the top of their profile grid. 
• A new resolution of 9x16 to support taller videos and photos on the platform was announced. 
• Some new updates were introduced on the platform during the mid-year as well. These updates included expanding profile photos by long-tapping over them, uploading 9:16 photos, full-screen vertical layout, crop post appearances, customizable grids, etc. 
• Users could also hide the number of followers they had on the platform starting this month. 
• Reels were also modified in Instagram's latest version and got updates like 90-second longer videos, interactive stickers, reel templates, etc. 
• Instagram algorithm updates witnessed the release of new supervision features and time management tools to protect teen users on the platform better. 
• These tools provided the ability to restrict teens’ Instagram usage behavior, and insights into reports submitted by teen users to review who they have reported and what types of reports were submitted by teens.
• Instagram launched a Notes feature that has already existed on top messaging apps like Twitter. The feature allowed users to share a 60-characters long status with their audiences. These Notes would expire automatically after 24 hours of sharing but users also had the freedom to delete them earlier. 
• New Subscription features introduced exclusive Subscriber chats, Subscriber Reels and Posts, and Subscriber Home. Subscriber Home allowed followers to review exclusive content on a single page of the particular Subscriber. 
• In July, the newest Instagram update was made for Instagram maps. Now, the map on Instagram could list and display the locations of brands and businesses across the world. Users could explore the map and find businesses around their locations or around the world.
• Instagram's new update brought some cool abilities for brands and businesses on the platform. These brands could now share product catalogs in the inbox of their potential customers. Additionally, customers had the ability to make purchases using Meta Pay.
• In July, Instagram also announced merging all categories of Instagram videos into reels.
• The Walkie-Talkie feature, a new update for the Instagram app allowed chat members to talk to each other by pushing the button like in a real walkie-talkie. However, users could turn off this feature if they wanted.
• By August, the NFT feature of Instagram had been expanded to 100 countries and allowed users to share NFTs on Ethereum, Polygon, and Flow blockchains. 
• Instagram also updated its platform to provide creators the ability to schedule the Reels that they are planning to post. 
• A BeReal-inspired feature called Candid Challenges was tested this year as well.
• Instagram also tested the topic tag for reels to categorize them better on the platform. 
• The latest Instagram version update started phasing out the shop option from the platform. 
• In September, Instagram tested a re-post feature as well. The Twitter-inspired feature would allow users to re-share posts of creators on their feeds. 
• In October, Instagram tested adding multiple links to bios. Earlier bios only supported adding up to a single link.
• Within the same month, another update notified users that they could now schedule posts and reels on the platform. 
• Another top new Instagram update provided Instagram users the ability to add music to posts they are uploading. The length of these music pieces could be up to 90 seconds long. 

2021- Taking privacy seriously

• This year was crucial for the growth of Instagram’s popularity, especially in the Indian market as the platform decided to relaunch Instagram Lite in the region. The 2MB Android app helped users with slow internet or older devices access limited Instagram features.
• The Professional Dashboard Instagram launched in 2021 allowed creators and brands to have better insights into the performance of their accounts. The tool also offered educational tools like inspirations, tricks, tips, guides, etc.
• To protect content deleted by hackers better, Instagram added a Recently Deleted feature on the platform. The feature stored the content deleted for a while and required verification from the account owner to permanently remove any post. This feature was launched in February.
• The cross-app messaging feature was a new Instagram update launched to support messaging across different platforms. For instance, now users could text and organize video chats from Instagram to Facebook. 
• The Instagram latest news shared by the platform on its official Twitter handle revealed that Instagram was testing the option that disabled post sharing on stories. 
• In March 2021, a centralized dashboard was added to the platform. The dashboard allowed users to track performance, with the help of tools, insights, and analytics. 
• Live Rooms was another Instagram’s latest update added in 2021. The update allowed users to create hangout rooms with up to 3 people whether to organize chat rooms or create group announcements. 
• An accidentally leaked feature revealed the existence of the ability to hide likes on posts made on Instagram. This one of the top Instagram new features gave creators the ability to either keep their like counts public or hide them from the audience.
• The new Instagram features also provided users with the ability to turn off their Video or Audio on Instagram Live so they can express themselves with more freedom.
• Insights for Reels were the latest addition to the latest Instagram version launched in April 2021. These insights helped creators find and review the performance of their reels better. These insights showed data like comments, shares, saves, plays, etc. 
• An iOS 14.5 update in the privacy policies required apps to collect data and share it only by taking consent from the user. This update influenced Instagram and Facebook to update their data collection policies.
• The new Instagram features were released for the analytics section of Instagram. These features allowed creators to review insights of 60 days instead of 30 days like earlier. 
• Just like TikTok Duet, Remixes were the Instagram new update launched in 2021. This feature allowed Instagram users to remix reels posted on the platform. However, creators of reels originally had the freedom to disable the remixing option.
• The newest Instagram update launched in May 2021 helped creators in integrating caption stickers automatically on the stories they share. The feature converted verbal speeches into written texts to grow the outreach of Instagram posts further.
• Among the crucial Instagram algorithm updates revealed in July 2021, a new update allowed users to locate Black-owned businesses in the USA easily.
• Another newest Instagram update provided users with the ability to see translations of stories posted in a language other than the one they generally use. At the time of its release, the new Instagram update supported 90 languages. 
• Another top Instagram app update was released to display ads in the Shop tab of Instagram. 
• Additionally, for audio used on Instagram to create reels, dedicated audio pages were launched. These audio pages allowed users to click on the audio to see all reels that have been created by using that audio.
• Ads for Instagram reels were added to the latest Instagram versions released this year. These ads were available in 116 countries across the globe. 
• Instagram also rolled out a desktop publishing platform. This publisher offered almost all the features required to make posts like post-resolution, filters, editing options, and more.
• The Instagram new version also created a limit to automatically filter Abusive messages received by users. These limits automatically hide abusive DMs and comments. However, the ability to allow or create such limits remained in the control of account owners.
• Another top update on the Instagram app allowed users to add Swipe-up links to stories. These Swipe-up links could direct users to external web pages.
• In August, new changes to Instagram allowed users to increase the reel length to 60 seconds. The platform also launched the Collab feature so multiple account owners could create and publish content together. 
• Another feature released in Instagram’s latest version disabled targeting Instagram and Facebook users of age below 18 to display personalized ads.
• The latest update on the Instagram app removed IGTV from the platform. Instead, Instagram supported publishing videos of up to 60 minutes on the Instagram feed. Users also got the ability to create 60-second previews for longer videos they are planning to publish on the platform. 
• Another update released to Instagram’s latest version called Account Status helped Instagram account owners in reviewing if they have violated any Instagram rules or policies since they created their account.
• In 2021 itself, Instagram announced new well-being features that motivated the young crowd on the platform to take often breaks from using the app. 
• The platform also launched a Live Scheduling feature that allowed creators or organizers to schedule Instagram Live sessions in 90 days advance.
• The new Instagram app update added support to delete an individual post from carousels posted on the platform.
• The Profile Embed feature was launched to allow account owners to embed a miniature version of the platform on their websites. 
• Reels Visual Replies was another cool Instagram feature added in 2021. The feature allowed replying to comments with a reel.

2020- The year of Covid

• An important year for Instagram and the entire world, 2020 year witnessed many Instagram features which came into existence to stay for a long period of time.
• In January, businesses got a separate inbox that they could use to separate and connect with their customers and personal connections.
• Another amazing feature following was added which allowed users to have an insight into what users they had not to follow back and what accounts they are interacting with the most. 
• In March, Instagram officially launched a campaign informing users about the dangers of the Covid-19 pandemic. The platform launched Stay Home and Thank You stickers to ask people to stay in quarantine and support essential workers.
• Apart from other business features, Instagram released Instagram Direct for the Instagram desktop app. The feature allowed users to exchange direct messages from the platform itself. 
• Instagram Guides were added to Instagram in May 2020. The feature allows users to curate multiple posts of their choice and add comments between these posts. These guides could be used to showcase the profile of the user or to explain posts better.
• June month of this year witnessed the release of another crucial feature that allowed creators to pin comments of their choice on their posts. 
• Instagram reels that you might well know of today were launched in August 2020. This feature established Instagram as a major alternative to TikTok, especially in markets where TikTok was banned like India. 
• Instagram, apart from extending the reel length to 30 seconds, also launched closed captioning for IGTV to reach out to non-hearing audiences from across the globe. 

2019- Shopping while socializing

• This year saw fewer updates as well but these updates were crucial for the Instagram userbase. Instagram removed the feature called Following which allowed followers to review every activity of the person they follow on Instagram.
• Instagram also introduced a shopping feature that provided users with the feature to shop and buy from the app itself.
• In December, new anti-bullying features and reporting capabilities were added to Instagram to protect its user base better.

2018- A community of a billion people

• Instagram introduced a mute feature in May that allowed users to select users they follow to mute to see none of their content without having to unfollow them.
• This year, Instagram hit a threshold of 1 billion users per month in June. 
• Some new features were also added like music for stories and IGTV to support longer videos on the platform.

2017- Introducing Carousels

• In February, Instagram introduced uploading Carousel posts which supported adding up to 10 photos in a single post.
• Another major year for Instagram’s update history, March 2017 was the time when location tags and hashtags were introduced for Stories.
• AR effects were also added to the app which allowed users to create new kinds of stories.

2016- Focusing on businesses

• Instagram made some popular changes this year as well. For starters, Instagram users now had the ability to quickly switch to their business profiles instead of having to log out and log in to the business profile every time they had to use them.
• Instagram also changed the way it showed content on the news feed of users. Instead of showing posts in chronological order on the basis of their upload time, Instagram now showed posts according to what every single user is interacting with the most. In other words, people would see the type of content they interacted with the most on Instagram.
• In May, a new update in brand tools allowed ad creators to see in-depth data like demographics, post reach, post impressions, etc.
• Within the same month, a revamped look of the app was introduced as well. The logo and the look of the UI were revamped.
• In June and July, features like translations and comment filtering were introduced.
• In August 2016, Stories were introduced to the global Instagram community and the platform also pledged to focus on the well-being of users.
• In August Instagram also added the ability to post pictures after zooming on them.
• In November 2016, Instagram also launched the live broadcasting feature which is being used even today.

2015- Start of Boomerang videos

• This year Instagram brought a major update for brands using the platform to run ads. The June 2015 update allowed creators to add options that allowed the target audience to sign up for newsletters, visit a website, or install apps. 
• Another update launched the support for horizontal and vertical posts.
• Businesses were also provided with video ads of 20 seconds in length. 
• In September 2015, Boomerang videos were announced. The feature boosted the popularity of loop videos on social media platforms.
• Before the year ended, Instagram also removed the support for third-party apps that could read Instagram feeds of users without having them to open the app.

2014- A deeper look into the insights

• In June, Instagram introduced some additional editing features for posts in the app. These features allowed users to edit brightness, contrast, shadows, and more. 
• In August, Instagram also announced business features like Insights and analytics which allowed creators to monitor their performance and progress.
• By December, 300 million users had joined Instagram.

2013- Enabling the communication part

• This year has been crucial for Instagram’s history as two crucial features Instagram videos and DMs were introduced in June and December respectively.
• The year also witnessed the introduction of the Photos of You feature and new photo tagging capabilities which allowed others to make posts and tag your profile in them.
•  An update to allow embedding Instagram posts on blogs and websites was also added.
• To empower making money from the platform through ads, sponsored posts were introduced. Now, these posts could be tagged with Sponsored to mark them.

2012- Exploring photo maps

• Another crucial year for this one of the top social media apps, 2012 was the year when Instagram introduced its app on Android OS devices as well. 
• Within the same month i.e. April 2012, Instagram’s userbase touched a threshold of 50 million users. 
• In August, Instagram witnessed another major update called Photo Maps. This new feature allowed users to scroll through the map of the world to find relevant content based on geolocation. 
• Instagram’s controversial update in its terms of service was introduced. The new policy gave Instagram the authority to sell any content posted on the platform to third parties without the consent of the creator of the post. 
• Instagram also shook hands with Facebook in 2012.

2011- The year of the filters

• The classic Instagram logo was launched in March 2011.
• By September, 10 million people had joined the Instagram global family.
• Some additional features like high-resolution picture support, one-click rotation, instant tilt-shift, and new and live filters were brought into existence by Instagram developers.

2010- Launch of the legacy

• Instagram started its journey as an app with a 1:1 aspect ratio to match its UI with the iPhone display of that era. 
• This version did not support hashtags and the first post was made by Mike Krieger himself on July 16, 2010, at 5.26 p.m. It was a picture of South Beach Harbor at Pier 38.
• By December 2010, 1 million accounts had been created on this popular social media platform.

By Arpit Dubey

Arpit is a dreamer, wanderer, and a tech nerd who loves to jot down tech musings and updates. With a logician mind, he is always chasing sunrises and tech advancements while secretly preparing for the robot uprising.