Instagram continues to bring new features to its popular app, this week announcing Notes along with several others.
Tell them what’s really on your mind 💬
Share your thoughts with Notes — and see what your friends are up to 👀 pic.twitter.com/6mbSz0UGPx
— Instagram (@instagram) December 13, 2022
According to a post on Instagram’s website, the new feature lets you “share your thoughts and see what your friends are up to.”
Notes are short posts of up to 60 characters comprising text and/or emoji, which attach to the profile image of selected recipients.
Instagram said that during testing, it discovered that people “liked having a lightweight, easy way to share what’s on their mind and start conversations.”
It added that whether a note asks for recommendations or simply shares whatever it is the sender is up to at any given moment, “Notes give people a casual and spontaneous way to express themselves and connect with each other.”
How to use Notes
Instagram is rolling out Notes now, so be patient if the feature isn’t yet showing for you.
To leave a note, go to the top of your inbox and select recipients among the followers you follow back or people on your Close Friends list, select “leave a note,” then simply tap out your message.
Your note will appear at the top of their inbox for 24 hours, and any replies to your notes will arrive as DMs in your inbox.
Instagram also said it’ll soon launch another feature called Group Profiles, which lets you share posts and stories in a dedicated, shared profile with friends.
Instagram tests
The Meta-owned company revealed it’s also testing a new feature for Stories called Candid Stories, which seems in part to be imitating the fast-growing app, BeReal. The company describes Candid Stories as “a new way for you and your friends to capture and share what you’re doing right now in a story that’s only visible to those who also share their own.”
As it’s a test feature, Candid Stories is only being offered to select users, so don’t be surprised if you’re not seeing it yet.
You can capture a candid from the Stories camera, the multi-author story at the top of your feed, or via the daily notification reminder that you’ll receive after your first candid. Thankfully, the daily reminder can be turned off it starts to become annoying.
Another feature being tested is Collaborative Collections, which lets users connect with friends who have similar interests by saving posts to a collaborative collection in a group or in DMs.
