Following the change, after viewing a number of posts a pop-up requires the user to log in to continue viewing content. Instagram later restricted the ability to view public profiles without logging in, prompting users to sign in after viewing a limited number of posts. In May, Instagram updated its mobile website to allow users to upload photos, and to add a “lightweight” version of the Explore tab. At the time of the announcement, it was reported that 80% of Instagram’s 600 million users were located outside the U.S., and while the aforementioned functionality was live at its announcement, Instagram also announced its intention to make more features available offline, and that they were “exploring an iOS version”.
Users report higher body surveillance (habitual monitoring of one’s shape and size), appearance-related pressure, eating-disorder-related-pathology and lower body satisfaction than non-users. In a 2021 study, Mun & Kim pointed out users with a strong need for approval were more likely to falsely present themselves, which increased the likelihood of depression. The first interviewed 15 monthly Californian instagram users with low body image and self esteem, aged 13-21.
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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. The new app added support for videos (viewing and creating posts or stories, and viewing live streams), album posts and direct messages. In September 2017, the company announced that public users would be able to limit who can comment on their content, such as only their followers or people they follow. In 2019, Instagram began to test the hiding of like counts for posts made by its users, with the feature later made available to everyone. Picardo et al. 2020 examined the relationship between self-harm posts and actual self-harm offline and found such content had negative emotional effects on some users. Also in 2020, Instagram rolled out a feature titled “suggested posts”, which adds posts from accounts Instagram thinks a user would like to such user’s feed.
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Although often admired for its success and influence, Instagram has also been criticized for negatively affecting teens’ mental health, its policy and interface changes, its alleged censorship, and illegal and inappropriate content uploaded by users. The most-liked photo on Instagram is a carousel of photos from footballer Lionel Messi celebrating winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup, The post has over 76 million likes. The photo post had received three likes and countless comments, and in September 2017, the company’s algorithms turned the photo into an advertisement visible to Solon’s sister. The policy change and its backlash caused competing photo services to use the opportunity to “try to lure users away” by promoting their privacy-friendly services, and some services experienced substantial gains in momentum and user growth following the news.
They are distinguished from regular content by the “sponsored” tag under the account name. Then in August of that year, Instagram introduced a reels button on the home page. Then, the following month, Reels officially launched in 50 countries including the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. Instagram Reels was officially launched in Pakistan in August 2022, two years after its global rollout in August 2020. Instagram Reels is the short-form section of the American social media platform Instagram. In May 2017, Instagram once again updated the Explore tab to promote public Stories content from nearby places.
Confirming ‘lurking’, this study found that those who use Reels for peeking neither created any content nor participated, instead they were only keen on watching others content. The research findings suggested that user motivations and socio-psychological predictors influence people’s usage behaviours with Instagram Reels. This study identified seven motivations behind Reels usage; socially rewarding self-promotion, entertainment, escape, surveillance, novelty, documentation, and trendiness. After a period of testing, a duration of up to three minutes was announced in January 2025. Then Instagram started rolling out a new feature with made Reels up to 90 seconds long beginning in June 2022.
- On June 23, 2021, Instagram announced a test change to the “suggested posts” feature.
- Instagram has developed and released three stand-alone apps with specialized functionality.
- The Iranian government offered moderators bribes up to $9,000 to delete specific accounts, with Masih Alinejad being targeted in particular.
- Instagram introduced a verification feature, known as the blue verified badge, in December 2014.
- Instagram-based activism (as well as other social media) has been criticized and dismissed for being performative, reductionist, and overly focused on aesthetics.
- There was no option for users to opt out of the changed Terms of Service without deleting their accounts before the new policy went into effect on January 16, 2013.
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- The Verge wrote that cybersecurity firm RepKnight had found contact information for multiple actors, musicians, and athletes, and singer Selena Gomez’s account was used by the hackers to post naked photos of her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber.
- Instagram said that this is to prevent abuse and so that hashtags do not help users gain views, but it has been noted that using hashtags is the only free method for a user to reach past their existing followers.
- In September 2024, Instagram added a sticker editor which allows users to cut out elements of photos and send them privately.
- On October 21, 2009, the first web-based prototype of Burbn was released online, although it was basic and non-functional, it featured a registration waiting list.
- Now, users are only able to see a curated selection of “popular” posts using a given hashtag.
- In May 2016, Instagram launched new tools for business accounts, including business profiles, analytics and the ability to promote posts as ads.
- In response to abusive and negative comments on users’ photos, Instagram has made efforts to give users more control over their posts and accompanying comments field.
Microsoft launched a Hyperlapse app for Android and Windows in May 2015, but there has been no official Hyperlapse app from Instagram for either of these platforms to date. In March 2015, Instagram announced it would implement “carousel ads”, allowing advertisers to display multiple images with options for linking to additional content. Users can apply for verification through Instagram’s settings, but the decision to grant verification ultimately rests with Instagram’s team.Meta (formerly Facebook) launched paid verification on Instagram in 2021. Meta stated that the test would initially reach a limited number of users, with plans for a global rollout depending on feedback. By doing so, users can easily access curated Stories from the past week that they might not have seen previously. In June 2018, the daily active story users of Instagram had reached 400 million users, and monthly active users had reached 1 billion active users.
Users are more likely to engage with images that depict fewer individuals compared to groups and they are also more likely to engage with content that has not been watermarked, as they view this content as less original and reliable compared to user-generated content. Ongoing research continues to explore how media content on the platform affects user engagement. Following behind, college graduates consist of 18% and users with a high school diploma or less make up 15%.
In May 2021, Instagram began allowing users in some regions to add pronouns to their profile page. In March 2021, Instagram launched a new feature in which four people can go live at once. In August 2020, Instagram began a pivot to video, introducing a new feature called “Reels”. Also in July 2019, Instagram announced that it would implement new features designed to reduce harassment and negative comments on the service. Mosseri stated that this was intended to have users “worry a little bit less about how many likes they’re getting on Instagram and spend a bit more time connecting with the people that they care about.” It has been argued that low numbers of likes in relativity to others could contribute to a lower self-esteem in users.
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Bug fixes, performance improvements and more cat videos. See what the world is watching — from the hottest music videos to what’s popular in gaming, fashion, beauty, news, learning and more. Instagram artificial intelligence describes content for visually impaired people who use screen readers. The post and petition gained mainstream attention after influencers Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian reposted the Instagram post; subsequently, the original post gained over 2 million likes on Instagram and over 275,000 signatures on Change.org. The primary criticisms for these updates was that Instagram was more like TikTok than photo sharing. 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.
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On July 5th, 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 response to abusive and negative comments on users’ photos, Instagram has made efforts to give users more control over their posts and accompanying comments field. Stories are more authentic than typical photos posted as posts because users know that in 24 hours their Stories will disappear if they don’t add them as highlighted (however users can check who saw their Story for 48 hours after it was published).
On December 20, Instagram announced that the advertising section of the policy would be reverted to its original October 2010 version. The Daily Beast was provided with a sample of the affected accounts and could confirm that, https://www.cuscocasinoonline.nl/ while many of the email addresses could be found with a Google search in public sources, some did not return relevant Google search results and thus were from private sources. Hours after the hack, a searchable database was posted online, charging $10 per search. However, the following month, more details emerged, with a group of hackers selling contact information online, with the affected number of accounts in the “millions” rather than the previously assumed limitation on verified accounts. The company said in a statement that it had “fixed the bug swiftly” and was running an investigation.
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In June 2021, Instagram launched a native affiliate marketing tool creators can use to earn commissions based on sales. In April 2019, Instagram added the option to “Checkout on Instagram”, which allows merchants to sell products directly through the Instagram app. In February 2016, Instagram announced that it had 200,000 advertisers on the platform. In June 2014, Instagram announced the rollout of ads in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, with ads starting to roll out that autumn.
Instagram said the algorithm was designed so that users would see more of the photos by users that they liked, but there was significant negative feedback, with many users asking their followers to turn on post notifications in order to make sure they see updates. In October 2015, it released Boomerang, a video app that combines photos into short, one-second videos that play back-and-forth in a loop. 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. 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. In December 2024, Instagram announced that it was trialing a feature designed to help users reconnect with content they may have missed from their mutual followers.
Instagram has been criticized in India for not taking steps to counter homophobic and transphobic contents. Instagram-based activism (as well as other social media) has been criticized and dismissed for being performative, reductionist, and overly focused on aesthetics. In June 2020, because of the Black Lives Matter movement, Instagram became more widely used as a social justice platform. Research shows Instagram browsing predicts social comparison, which generates FOMO, which can lead to depression. However, Brailovskaia & Margraf 2018 found a significant positive relationship between Instagram membership and extraversion, life satisfaction, and social support. Comments related to appearance on Instagram can lead to higher dissatisfaction with one’s body.