Instagram has rearranged its home screen to put the Reels and Shop features front and centre.
Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri announced the new design on the Instagram blog on Thursday.
“At Instagram, our focus has always been on young people and creators because they’re trendsetters”, explained Mosseri. “Change is happening quickly right now, including how both of these groups use Instagram and engage with the world”.
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According to Mosseri, the ongoing pandemic and consequential lockdowns have triggered an influx of users creating and sharing short, entertaining videos. People have also been forced to move their spending habits online, leading to a rise in both online shopping and in users turning to creators for recommendations on what to buy.
Instagram has responded to this data by moving its Reels and Shop tabs to the front page of the app.
Now, rather than heading to your explore page, you can access Reels simply by tapping the icon in the centre of the lower navigation bar. You can also open the Shop by selecting the shopping bag icon in the navigation bar to the right of Reels.
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Of course, Instagram couldn’t add these features to its navigation bar without removing some existing icons. You’ll now find the Post and Activity buttons in the upper right corner next to your inbox.
Instagram unveiled Shop in July. The feature allows users to see personalised recommendations, editors’ picks, videos, product collections and more, all without leaving the app. Likewise, Reels was only introduced in August. Instagram’s answer to TikTok allows users to create and share short, 15-second videos with audio, effects and creative tools.
Instagram hasn’t updated its home screen in a long time, so the fact that both Shop and Reels have been given spots on the home screen after just months in the app suggest they’re almost certainly here to stay.
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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.
