Instagram has gradually accumulated tons of new features over the years — from face filters to video chat to the recent nametag tool to mention just a few. But the developers who tirelessly tweak the app in an effort to enhance the user experience have gone back to basics by testing a new way to scroll through the feed.
As per TechCrunch, the media-sharing app could soon let you work your way through posts by simply tapping on each one. Currently, you advance through your feed by swiping up, but swiping to scroll can sometimes be a messy affair, with a bit of effort required to line up each post on the screen. On top of that, single-handed smartphone users may even experience a spot of thumb ache from the continuous swiping, and the last thing Instagram wants is to be accused of causing some of its most devoted ‘grammers repetitive strain injury.
With that in mind, Instagram is currently allowing a select number of users to tap their way through posts, with each image or video automatically showing on the display as a perfect fit. The limited testing is only working for the Explore tab at the moment. If you’re part of the test group, you’ll see the message: “Introducing a new way to move through posts … tap through posts, just like you tap through Stories.”
Stories is the Snapchat-like feature that lets Instagram users build a presentation of photos and video captured during the previous 24 hours. As the message says, viewers can advance their way through a Stories’ content with a single tap anywhere on the right side of the screen.
Instagram hasn’t made any official announcement about the potential new feature for moving through feeds, confirming only that it’s “always testing ways to improve the experience” for users.
If testing reveals that the feature helps to keep ‘grammers on the platform for longer periods of time in a single session, and encourages them to look at more content in a shorter space of time, then Facebook-owned Instagram could well decide to roll out the tap-to-advance feature to everyone on the platform before too long.
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