Tag: app-subdomain-redirection:instagram

Adam Mosseri, director of Instagram, has announced improvements in the search for direct messages. In a recent reel, Mosseri responded to a query posed by the user @ben_yanes during one of his Q&A sessions on the platform, suggesting the addition of a search bar to filter keywords in the message request folder.

Mosseri acknowledged the usefulness of this proposal, especially for creators who receive a large number of requests daily, and stated that he will talk to his team to implement it in 2025. Additionally, he hinted that Instagram’s search system will continue to improve with new tools next year.

Currently, Instagram already allows users to search for conversations through a bar in the inbox, but lacks more advanced features like keyword filtering. This contrasts with WhatsApp, another app owned by Meta, which allows searching for specific terms in chats. For example, users can locate previous addresses by searching for related keywords.

With this functionality, Instagram aims to optimize the experience of its users, especially those with high engagement on the platform. Will we have to wait long to see it?

Instagram, the popular social network from Meta, is testing a feature aimed at helping users not miss updates from their friends. According to the company, as reported by TechCrunch, the platform has started showing unseen Story highlights from mutual friends at the end of the Story tray, at the top of the feed.

“We are always looking for new ways to connect people through Stories, and we are testing this feature with a small group of users,” said a Meta spokesperson. The change was first detected by social media expert Ahmed Ghanem.

The idea arises in response to the growing volume of Reels and sponsored posts that can cause you to miss updates from your friends. With this test, Instagram aims to give more visibility to Highlighted Stories, those selected posts that users save on their profiles and that do not disappear in 24 hours like regular Stories.

The Featured Stories will only appear if the user has viewed all the current Stories in their tray. Additionally, only the unseen ones from the last week will be shown, ensuring that content you have already seen is not repeated.

Instagram has launched a new feature that allows scheduling direct messages (DM). The social network confirmed to TechCrunch that this tool is now available to users worldwide, and promises to be especially useful for content creators and brands.

Thanks to this innovation, originally detected by social media expert Lindsey Gamble, both creators and businesses will be able to send messages at strategic times to maximize their impact, while regular users can use it to adapt to different time zones or to send reminders at specific moments.

To use the feature, simply draft the message, hold down the send button, and select the desired date and time. According to tests conducted, it is possible to schedule messages up to 29 days in advance. Additionally, Instagram will display a notice within the chat with pending scheduled messages to ensure users remember the messages they will send.

This past month, Instagram has incorporated other improvements in its DMs, such as the ability to share locations directly with friends and to customize chat names with nicknames. Meanwhile, creators can now organize their message requests by applying filters such as verified accounts, number of followers, or brands.

Instagram has started to implement a new feature for creators to experiment with their videos. Now, Reels can be set to “test mode,” an option that allows the content to only be visible to users who do not follow the creator’s account.

Although at first glance it might seem illogical to hide content from regular followers, the goal is to enable creators to test new formats or topics that might not interest their current audience. Those who have tried the feature highlight its usefulness for exploring trends, expanding their reach, and stepping out of their usual niche.

The Trial Reels will feature detailed analytical reports, such as views, “likes,” and shares, approximately 24 hours after posting. These results help creators assess the reception of the content without compromising the perception of their regular audience. If the video is successful, it is possible to change the settings to make it visible to followers and allow Instagram to automatically share the most popular videos.

The Instagram test Reels are now available globally. To create a Reel in test mode, simply activate the “test” widget during the publishing process. These videos will not appear on the profile until the creator decides to share them.

Meta has introduced new features in the Broadcast Channels of Instagram, providing creators and their followers a two-way communication channel. Until now, these channels allowed users to react only with emojis to creators’ posts, limiting communication to one way. With this update, creators can enable replies to their posts and allow users to interact with each other.

Additionally, the possibility of launching questions or topics to start conversations within the channel is included. This question functionality allows followers to respond within 24 hours with text or photos, promoting a more dynamic and creative exchange. Furthermore, Meta has added metrics for creators to analyze the performance of their channels; with these statistics, the platform will offer personalized suggestions, such as posting behind-the-scenes content or increasing the frequency of posts, to encourage user engagement.

Launched last year, Broadcast Channels were initially designed for creators to share public messages with their followers without the overload of responses. However, these improvements bring the experience closer to that of an organized comment section, as responses are grouped under each main message. Creators will have control over these options, and can decide whether to activate them or not in their channel settings.

According to a new Bloomberg report, Meta will use artificial intelligence to predict the age of its Instagram users and automatically transfer those under 18 to a teen account if it believes they are lying about their age.

In the wake of international protests about the impact of social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook on the mental health of teenagers, Meta introduced accounts for teenagers in September.

Teen accounts, for children aged 13 to 17, have built-in limits on who can contact them and what content they can see. They are automatically set to hide potentially offensive comments and message requests.

Meta details 'adult classifier' tool for catching teens who lie about their age on Instagram https://t.co/vkR6aHOcVG

— Engadget (@engadget) November 4, 2024

How the AI that will classify teenagers and adults works

Secure accounts for teenagers will only work if those under 18 voluntarily choose to use them or are honest about their age, which is why Meta has devised a way to enforce the appropriate accounts.

The patented computer tool that Meta has developed, called the “adult classifier,” will come into play next year and is designed to classify users into two groups: under or over 18 years old.

Facebook $META plans to use AI to identify young users on Instagram who are lying about their age and automatically switch them into more restrictive privacy settings – Bloomberg pic.twitter.com/KVsEGmzfq4

— Evan (@StockMKTNewz) November 4, 2024

According to Allison Hartnet, director of youth product management and social impact at Meta, the tool will scan a user’s profile, the content they interact with, and their follower list to determine their age. Even innocuous “happy birthday” messages can be used to determine a user’s true age.

Since teen accounts are new and currently voluntary, there is a large base of teenage users on Instagram who use regular adult accounts. Meta plans to start moving teenagers who have voluntarily provided their age information to the new teen accounts very soon and introduce the “adult classifier” early next year.

This is Meta’s latest attempt to address some of the public outcry over the impact of social media on teenagers. In 2021, a report published in the Wall Street Journal showed that Meta’s reports indicated it knew Instagram was harmful to teenagers’ mental health, especially for teenage girls.

Many people have complained that their videos don’t look as good as the videos uploaded by influencers and celebrities on Instagram. Until now, we thought it was a matter of views… and the company’s CEO confirms it.

The head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, recently spoke about video quality in an AMA, confirming that the quality of Instagram videos depends, in part, on the views.

“If something is not viewed for a long time because the vast majority of views are at the beginning, we will switch to a lower quality video,” said Mosseri. “And if it starts getting viewed a lot again, we will re-render it to a higher quality video.”

This is what the CEO of Instagram says about low-quality videos

Posted by @lindseygamble_

View on Threads

Mosseri adds that if someone views it with a slow Internet connection, the videos will also render with lower quality: “The goal is to show people the highest quality content we can.”

The video quality on Instagram works on an aggregate level and not individually, confirmed Mosseri in a subsequent post on Threads.

Posted by @mosseri

View on Threads

“We lean towards higher quality (more CPU-intensive encoding and more expensive storage for larger files) for creators who drive more views. It is not a binary threshold, but a sliding scale,” explains the company’s CEO.

Instagram has launched a new sound identity for its Reels section. The new sound, presented in a post on the social network, will play at the end of each Reel. According to the design team, they tested “a variety of different sounds” until they found one that is “simple and iconic.” However, many users have pointed out that they do not like the result—not at all.

Siera Sinclair, sound designer at Meta, explained that the goal was to create “a punctuated, yet imperfect environment, a metaphor for everyday creativity.” According to Sinclair, “not everything creative needs to be perfect to be shared,” referring to the philosophy behind this sound. The design process was meticulous, involving multiple listening tests, adjustments, and different versions. The final sound begins with a bass drum hit symbolizing creativity, followed by a vibration that extends for a second.

Despite Meta’s efforts, the public’s response has been mostly negative, to the point of comparing the sound to a digital error message. “This really reminds me of a ‘fatal error’ warning message,” noted one user in the comments of the post, while another expressed, “I thought it was a download error.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Instagram’s @design (@design)

One aspect that greatly concerns users is the frequency with which the sound will be heard, as it will play at the end of each Reel watched or downloaded, which could make it somewhat annoying. A user warned: “Hearing this all the time would not be pleasant,” and asked Instagram to “reconsider” its choice.

According to Instagram, the biggest challenge for the design team was to create a soundtrack that could adapt to all types of Reels, “from the most serious to the inspiring or comedic.” However, while some consider that the sound fits well with the more “light-hearted” or motivational Reels, its suitability for more serious or sad content shared by users is not so clear. Will Meta end up reversing the sound?