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Instagram will down-rank posts debunked by fact checkers
Instagram is finally giving disinformation, hoaxes and conspiracy theories the same treatment as Facebook does. The company announced that it will down-rank posts that have been debunked by fact checkers as part of its effort to fight misinformation in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The photo sharing app began sending posts to third-party checkers last year, but until now those posts could still appear prominently in users' feeds, even if they carried "false information labels." (The app has taken steps to hide posts from public-facing areas of the app like Explore and hashtag pages.) Facebook, on the other hand, has been working with third-party fact-checkers to debunk and bury posts since 2016.
Instagram adds walkie-talkie voice messages
You no longer have to strike up a live conversation if you want voice chats on Instagram -- the social network has launched walkie-talkie style voice messaging feature for direct messages. If you want to speak your mind, you only have to hold down a microphone button to record a message that your recipients (either individuals or groups) can play on their own time. You can deliver a heartfelt message if text seems too impersonal, or dash off a quick reply when you don't have both hands free.
Instagram experiments with a standalone messaging app
It happened to Facebook, and now it's happening to Instagram. Today, the Zuckerberg empire is launching a standalone messaging app for Instagram called Direct. As The Verge reports, it's technically a test and will only be available in six markets — Chile, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Turkey and Uruguay. Like Messenger, the Direct app effectively cuts the Instagram experience in half; your Inbox lives in Direct, while the regular feed remains in the Instagram app. If you want to keep tabs on both, you'll have to shuffle back and forth. It sounds like both apps will have a built-in camera, however.
Reply to Instagram messages with pictures and video
Instagram users have a new means of expressing themselves via direct messages as of Thursday. They can now reply to shared Direct posts with images and video of their own.
Instagram Direct doesn't care about your photo orientation
Instagram Direct debuted in 2013 as a way to send photos and videos, well, directly to your friends on the photo sharing service. The Facebook-owned company has added more features to the system over the intervening years, like threaded messaging, disappearing messages and live video. Instagram Direct's latest update adds two more features aimed at creating a more robust messaging service: non-square images and links.
700 million people are using Instagram
Instagram's Stories feature beating out all of Snapchat in terms of users is so two weeks ago. Now the photo-minded social network is crowing about hitting 700 million users in rapid fashion. Specifically, 100 million folks flocked to the app within the last four months alone. The last time Instagram gained 100 million new users it took six months, according to TechCrunch.
Instagram Direct combines disappearing photos with all other messages
Instagram's direct messaging features have gotten surprisingly robust over the years. You can send photos privately to another user (or group of users) and share other images you see from Instagram users with just a few taps. (The latter feature is particularly good for sharing dog pictures, just saying.) Instagram also added "disappearing" photos and videos to the mix this past November, one of the most obvious instances of Facebook and Instagram "borrowing" from Snapchat. Today, Instagram says they're combining disappearing and permanent messages all into one thread -- an obvious UI update that seems like it should have been there from the beginning.
Instagram adds live video broadcasts and disappearing photos
Instagram has been taking quite a bit of inspiration from Snapchat lately, and that trend continues today. The app's latest update brings two new features: "disappearing" photos for Instagram Direct and live video broadcasting in your Instagram stories. The latter feature is probably a bigger deal, and something Snapchat isn't doing yet -- but given how popular Periscope and then Facebook Live video has become, it's not surprising to see the feature make its way to Instagram.
Instagram adds more direct messaging features
A couple of years ago, Instagram launched Instagram Direct, a built-in messaging system that lets users share photos or videos with each other -- either one-on-one or in groups of up to 15 people. Now, with over 85 million monthly users, it's time for Instagram Direct to get an update. That's finally happening today with a few new features, which include threaded messaging and a way to share Instagram content as Direct messages.
