Instagram starts testing its BeReal clone

Source: Meta

Instagram hasn't been shy about copying features from its competitors. Aside from its new collab features, the Meta social network has a new Candid Stories feature, recreating BeReal's signature once-a-day posts using both the front and rear cameras on your phone. Instagram is testing the feature in South Africa first.

Similar to BeReal, Instagram's Candid Stories will prompt you to post once a day. You can see your friend's Candids when they post. These will appear in the Stories section of the app. Instagram hasn't elaborated on when this feature gets a wider release, but you'll definitely hear from us when it does go live.

Source

Instagram tests more collaboration features with Group Profiles, Collaborative Collections

Source: Meta

Instagram is again throwing more features against the wall to see what sticks. A couple of the new features it's testing revolves around collaboration on the platform.

Group Profiles allows multiple users to post on one profile. According to Meta, "Whenever you share content to a Group Profile, that content will only be shared to group members instead of your followers, and will be posted on the Group Profile instead of your own."

Click to read more ...

You can now add music to your Instagram photos

Instagram Reels aren't just a way to add music to your posts. Now, you can add music to photos you add to the feed. Instagram says music plays a "huge part" of expression on the platform. “No matter which format works best to tell your story, you can now add a soundtrack to your favorite photo moments to bring them to life,” the company says.

So, when you upload a photo, you can select a song that will play when a photo is viewed. There should be an "Add Music" option in the interface. You can select songs or browse through Instagram's Trending or For You pages. Once you find the song you like, you can clip the duration (between five and 90 seconds) and then post.

Source

Instagram rolls out new web interface

Instagram makes it easy to scroll and use its web app. It's something we've had the past few weeks already, but with Instagram head Adam Mosseri's announcement, we're expecting it's finally gotten a wider rollout. Mosseri describes the new interface as a cleaner, faster, and more user-friendly experience on the app.

The menus are now in a new sidebar, giving you easier access to the feed, search, messages, notifications, and more. When you pull up things like notifications, it's shown on the left side of the site, so you can still see what's in your feed. Instagram hasn't brought its different feeds in this web version, though. And as 9to5Mac pointed out, there is still no iPad app, even if this new web version makes it clear it's possible to use Instagram on a bigger screen. Your option is to use this web version on your iPad, though.