Instagram will now let you add GIF stickers to your Stories

It seems like a long time coming, especially with the popularity of GIFs on the internet, but the wait is finally over. Instagram is rolling out to both Android and iOS users a new GIF button with the GIFs you can add provided by GIPHY. Just like how it’s done on other platforms, you can browse through trending GIF stickers or look for specific ones to add to your photo or video story.

Aside from that, Instagram users can expect in the near future the ability to upload photos and videos “of any size” into a story, similar to what you can do with Stories on Facebook. So instead of cutting off a part of an image or video, Stories will show the entire photo or clip in its original state. Any extra room will be filled by a color gradient to match the colors of the image or video.

Source: MacRumors

New Instagram feature might show just how addicted to the social network you are

There’s a new feature that’s on by default on Instagram, and you may or may not like it. It shows people you private message or tag in your Instagram Stories when the last time you were on the app. It’s apparently showing up for both Android and iOS users. If you would prefer to keep how often you are on the app, you can just scroll to the bottom of the settings menu and turn off the toggle beside the “Show Activity Status” option. If you do this though, you won’t be able to see when other people were last online.

Source: Business Insider

Instagram will start showing recommended posts on your feed

You no longer have to head to the Explore tab to see some recommended accounts. Instagram is rolling out a “Recommended for You” section in your main feed. This may or may not sit well with users but it’s coming your way. If you go through all the new posts on your regular feed, that’s when this section will show up. It shows you posts from accounts your friends may follow and the social network things you might like or based on the company’s algorithm. Instagram even added a new section on its help site on this new feature.

Source: Tech Crunch

Instagram update lets you follow hashtags

Instagram has been steadily adding on more and more features these days. The latest addition is the ability to follow hashtags on the service like you would accounts. All you need to do is search for a topic that interests you and tap on the follow button. Relevant posts that have these tags will show up in both your feed and stories bar. You can also unfollow hashtags the same way. Your profile will now also show the hashtags you follow. If your account is set to private, then only your followers will see what hashtags you follow.