Instagram’s 2025 overhaul: 20-track reels, vanishing hashtags and DM scheduling

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Instagram's 2025 overhaul: 20-track reels, vanishing hashtags and DM scheduling
Instagram's 2025 overhaul: 20-track reels, vanishing hashtags and DM scheduling

Africa-Press – Cape verde. As we kick off a new year, several popular apps are introducing updates, and Instagram is no exception.

The video and photo-sharing platform, owned by Meta, plans to roll out various updates in 2025, including eliminating the highlight bubbles above the feed, among other changes.

This specific update has stirred some complaints among users on other social media platforms like TikTok given that some people invest time and effort in curating their Instagram profiles, and creating story highlights is a part of that process.

Instagram trial reels

Instagram will introduce a new feature called trial reels, allowing users to gauge the potential performance of their reels before officially posting them to their followers.

According to the Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, the feature aims to reduce the pressure of sharing reels on the platform, helping creators understand how their content will perform before being viewed by their followers. This also encourages users to experiment with content that is different from what they normally post.

“Trial reels get shown to non-followers first, and if you like how they perform, you can choose to share them with your followers,” he said in an Instagram reel. “Our hope is that this helps people feel more comfortable experimenting with new ideas without worrying about how their followers might react.”

Story highlights

In its redesign, Instagram will move story highlights to a dedicated tab, eliminating the circular bubbles above the profile grid. Story highlights will now be integrated into the feed but marked with a heart to differentiate them from other content.

“We’re trying to figure out a way to improve the profile and get more of the content above the fold and simplify it,” Mosseri said. “This move is contentious…we may not be able to make it work, but bear with us as we try to figure out a simple, effective solution that empowers creators to shape their profiles but also keeps the experience simple for the viewer.”

Scheduled DMs

For users who like to plan ahead, Instagram will allow scheduling direct messages up to 29 days in advance. However, this feature will be limited to text messages only, with memes, photos, videos, and posts only shareable in real-time.

Additionally, as of November, the platform introduced a location-sharing option via DMs, allowing users to share their location with friends or groups for just one hour.

Multiple audios in one reel

Instagram is enhancing its audio features by allowing users to add up to 20 tracks in a single reel. This unique blend of songs will be available to other users, with credit given to the original creator, offering the potential for viral success.

Screenshot notification

To address privacy concerns, Instagram has introduced a feature that notifies users if a screenshot of disappearing videos, pictures, or certain other messages is taken. The screenshot notification does not apply to profile grids or story posts. Another upcoming DM feature is the ability to edit direct messages.

Following hashtags

As of 13 December 2024, Instagram has removed the option to follow hashtags.

Posts from followed hashtags will no longer appear in users’ feeds. This decision aims to reduce spam and irrelevant content often linked with trending hashtags.

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