Instagram has reached 3 billion monthly users, making the network one of the most popular consumer apps of all time and leading parent company Meta Platforms to put even more emphasis on the tools that keep driving growth: short-form video and private messaging.
The app is changing its home screen navigation bar to highlight private messaging and Reels, Instagram’s video rival to TikTok, which will make those features easier for users to find.
It is also running a test in India where the app will open directly into Reels instead of the traditional feed, a design the company also employed for a newly released iPad app.
Another test will let Instagram users more directly influence their content algorithm by selecting or hiding topics depending on their interests, according to Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram.
The changes are part of a broader effort to leverage Instagram’s most popular features – even if it means moving further away from the traditional photo feed that first made the app a global hit.
While Instagram was once known primarily as a place for posting and scrolling through personal life highlights, that type of sharing has been declining for years, Mosseri said.