Over the last few months Instagram has done a lot to negate the annoyance caused by the non-linear order in which posts are shown.
First the company scaled back its algorithms to show users more timely posts and now it planning to tell users when they can stop scrolling.
The new feature, called ‘You’re All Caught Up’ will send users a mid-feed message informing them they’ve seen all new post for the 48 hours.
Available on iOS and Android from today, the feature will prevent users continuing to scroll through their feed, unsure of whether unseen posts are being pushed down by the algorithms.
“We’ve heard that it can be difficult to keep track of your seen posts,” the company said in a blog post on Monday. “With this message, you’ll have a better understanding of your Feed and know you haven’t missed recent photos or videos.”
The company is also pushing a new digital health feature, which will inform users when they’re spending too much time aimlessly scrolling through content. Today’s addition should also assist with this.
Back in May, founder and CEO Kevin Systrom said: “We’re building tools that will help the IG community know more about the time they spend on Instagram – any time should be positive and intentional. Understanding how time online impacts people is important, and it’s the responsibility of all companies to be honest about this. We want to be part of the solution. I take that responsibility seriously.”
The company is also adding another new feature to its ephemeral Stories tool today (via Android Police). Posters can now ask questions within stories, building on the ability to add polls and sliders. Users will be able to type an answer or a comment in a text box, screenshots have revealed.
The feature is not hitting everyone yet and Instagram is yet to publicly acknowledge the feature.
Is Instagram finding a nice middle ground between feed curation and keeping annoyance to a minimum? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
