"I know some of you really like your squares. And square photos are sort of the heritage of Instagram," Instagram chief Adam Mosseri said in an Instagram story. "But at this point, most of what’s uploaded, both photos and videos, are vertical in their orientation. And it just is a bummer to overly crop them. I know it's a change. I know it's a bit of a pain, but I think it's a transitional pain."
https://mashable.com/article/instagram-rectangle-square-grid
Instagram is officially rolling out “trial reels” to give creators a way to test out new content by publishing videos that don’t appear to their followers. The feature, which launched in testing in May, allows creators to experiment with new ideas and see what performs best without having to worry about how their followers may react.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/10/instagram-rolls-out-trial-reels-that-arent-shown-to-a-creators-followers/
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The new feature will be available to users of all ages, including Teen accounts. “We want to make sure everyone on Instagram – especially teens – has safe, positive, age-appropriate experiences and feels the time they’re spending on Instagram is valuable,” Meta said. “We want to give teens new ways to shape their Instagram experience, so it can continue to reflect their passions and interests as they evolve.”
https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/19/24300458/instagram-reset-content-recommendations-from-scratch
The popularity of an Instagram video can affect its actual video quality: According to Adam Mosseri (the Meta executive who leads Instagram and Threads), videos that are more popular get shown in higher quality, while less popular videos get shown in lower quality. In a video (via The Verge), Mosseri said Instagram tries to show “the highest-quality video that we can,” but he said, “if something isn’t watched for a long time — because the vast majority of views are in the beginning — we will move to a lower quality video.”
https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/27/instagram-is-lowering-video-quality-for-unpopular-videos/
“We’re always testing formats that can drive value for advertisers," it said in a statement, adding that it would provide further updates if the test resulted in permanent format changes. One person on Threads called the move "bonkers" – adding that it "seems like an aggressively pushy move to earn more ad dollars for Meta".
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c877y6mxdp7o
Threads, Meta's Twitter-like Instagram spinoff app, is exploring a new, more engaging look on web browsers that shows multiple columns of pages or feeds next to each other. Meta started testing the new layout for select web browser users on Thursday. "If you’re in the test, you can choose to keep things simple with a single feed, or add separate columns for your favorites searches, tags, accounts, saved posts, and notifications. You can choose to have specific columns update in real time," a Meta representative tells PCMag.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/threads-gets-a-tweetdeck-like-makeover-on-the-web
To access the hidden game, all you have to do is open up a DM chat, send an emoji, and then click on it. After that, you will be transported to a yellow screen with a paddle and emoji of your choosing. The emoji will move faster as the game progresses and the background color will get darker.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/07/bored-go-play-this-hidden-game-in-your-instagram-dms/