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In March 2015, Instagram announced it would implement "carousel ads", allowing advertisers to display multiple images with options for linking to additional content. In October 2013, Instagram announced that video and image ads would soon appear in feeds for users in the United States, with the first image advertisements displaying on November 1, 2013. The badge appears as a blue checkmark located next to the account’s username in search results, profile pages, and comments.
Instagram Reels
Sometimes the phrase "Chinese Instagram" is used to refer to Xiaohongshu, a competitor social media app. Instagram has been blocked by China following the 2014 Hong Kong protests as many confrontations with police and incidents occurring during the protests were recorded and photographed. In February 2026, a court filing revealed that nearly 19% of users aged 13 to 15 told Meta that they saw unwanted "nudity or sexual images on Instagram." However, new incidents of illegal drug trade have occurred in the aftermath of the 2013 revelation, with Facebook, Inc., Instagram’s parent company, asking users who come across such content to report the material, at which time a "dedicated team" reviews the information. People can’t buy things on Instagram, we are simply a place where people share photos and videos.
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The same month, they also began testing the removal of ability to share feed posts to stories. After scrolling through posts from the past 48 hours, Instagram displays endless posts related to their interests from accounts they do not follow. It was integrated with Instagram’s "Close friends" feature, so that users could send images, photos, and texts privately to others, and also had Instagram’s photo editing system embedded into the app. Following the change, after viewing a number of posts a pop-up requires the user to log in to continue viewing content.
2019: IGTV, removal of the like counter, management changes
Correlations have been made between Instagram content and dissatisfaction with one’s body, as a result of people comparing themselves to other users. Users can choose to switch them off for their whole feed or on a per-post basis. The tool used color analysis, metadata components, and face detection of users’ feeds. Some have suggested it may contribute to digital dependence, whilst this same survey noticed its positive effects, including self-expression, self-identity, and community building.
Third-party services can be used for unlimited browsing of public Instagram profiles without having to create an account, as well as for anonymous browsing of someone else’s Stories. It was reported that these changes were primarily intended to discourage third-party clients replicating the entire Instagram experience (due to increasing monetization of the service), and security reasons (such as preventing abuse by automated click farms, and the hijacking of accounts). It was followed by the release of Hyperlapse in August, an iOS-exclusive app that uses "clever algorithm processing" to create tracking shots and fast time-lapse videos. In July 2014, it released Bolt, a messaging app where users click on a friend’s profile photo to quickly send an image, with the content disappearing after being seen.
- Instagram also announced that adults would not be allowed to message teens who don’t follow them as part of a series of new child safety policies.
- In February 2026, a court filing revealed that nearly 19% of users aged 13 to 15 told Meta that they saw unwanted "nudity or sexual images on Instagram."
- When users receive a private message from someone they don’t follow, the message is marked as pending and the user must accept to see it.
- In August 2026, Instagram updated its wordmark for the first time in about a decade, replacing its previous script-style lettering with a redesigned typeface that combines script and print elements.
The study showed viewing celebrity and peer pictures could make the moods of women negative. Their study showed presence of depressive symptoms in a user could positively predict they would post. The company stated it was looking into concerns raised by the regulators and parents. The WSJ reported that Instagram can worsen poor body image of young people, with girls particularly vulnerable.
Instagram later restricted the ability to view public profiles without logging in, prompting users to sign in after viewing a limited number of posts. 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. The application was shut down and removed from app stores in March 2022, citing low usage and a shift to short-form video content.
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 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 slideshow banner on the top of profile pages, which simultaneously slide-showed seven picture tiles of pictures posted by the user, alternating at different times in a random order, has been removed. On April 3, 2012, Instagram released a version of its app for Android phones, and it was downloaded more than one million times in less than one day. The Android version of Instagram was released in April 2012, followed by a feature-limited desktop interface in November 2012, a Fire OS app in June 2014, an app for Windows 10 in October 2016, and an app for iPadOS in September 2025.
In 2016, Olivia Solon, a reporter for The Guardian, posted a screenshot to her Instagram profile of an email she had received containing threats of rape and murder towards her. On February 26, 2019, the New York Post released an article stating that the FTC had discovered a memo authored by a senior Facebook official, revealing that the purpose behind the acquisition of Instagram was to remove a potential rival. The policy update also introduced an arbitration clause, which remained even after the language pertaining to advertising and user content had been modified. Furthermore, he wrote that they would work on "updated language in the terms to make sure this is clear".
The change prompted concerns among privacy researchers and digital rights commentators regarding reduced message confidentiality and broader implications for messaging privacy and data protection. Following this change, messages are no longer protected by end-to-end encryption and are not exclusively accessible only to the communicating users. Meta scheduled an end of support for end-to-end encryption in Instagram direct messaging in May 2026. On July 5, 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. In February 2023, Instagram introduced a new feature allowing users to browse and post GIFs in their comments. This feature allows users to share updates as short text posts of up to 60 characters with certain people, who can then reply to them using messaging on Instagram.
It helps users easily identify legitimate accounts amidst the vast number of profiles on the platform. This marked a significant shift from the previous system where verification was typically initiated by Instagram itself for accounts it deemed to be of public interest or high-profile. Users will only be able to view these Highlights after they have gone through all current Stories in their tray, meaning that those who follow many accounts may find it challenging to see these caledonianoyster.co.uk updates.