instagram: new features and updates

What’s New in 2022 on Instagram: New Features and Updates

Here’s what’s new on Instagram: new features and updates.

Since 2010, when Instagram was founded, it has remained one of the most relevant and fastest growing social media platforms in the world. The impact and greatness of Instagram cannot be overlooked as it is a connecting platform that connects people of different races and cultures. Experiences, tutorials on skills, promotion of business, sharing of information, pictures, videos, and ideas are all things that could be carried out with this social media platform.

Back in the day, Instagram was primarily for sharing pictures and videos and was mostly used by celebrities to share their latest pictures or videos.
Now, if you need a tutorial on anything, you can simply search for it using a hashtag and hundreds of tutorial pictures, videos, and or posts will appear ready for your use. Booking for services, sales of goods (online shop) and job opportunities are also included in the advantages you can obtain from this platform.
Instagram wants its users to have more and discover new ways they can use the app to their advantage. Therefore, it updates and adds new features to it from time to time to make this a success.

The introduction of reels that allow you to create short videos on your account in 2020 is one of Instagram’s best updates as this has opened a pathway for the showcasing of talents and innovation of new ideas and trends.
There are many updates on Instagram that you may not know about as Instagram is frequently updating, adding and removing features. That is why I have curated what’s new in 2022 on Instagram: new features and updates.

What’s New on Instagram: New Features and Updates

Editing tools for reels updated


The editing tools for Instagram reels have been recently updated. Now, you can rearrange and trim reel videos.
Go to the Instagram app and activate Reels to edit footage. Create a video or upload one. Tap ‘edit clips’ on the button on the left side of ‘preview video clips.’ To activate the reordering mode, press the reorder key and drag & drop your video segments into the desired order.

3-D avatar


Instagram released the 3-D avatar in January, and it is now available to users in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
3D avatars, as opposed to static social media profiles, are a new visual depiction of users’ more personalised identities.
The avatars are designed to be created on Instagram, Facebook, or Messenger apps. Even so, it can transport them across the Metaverse with all of their digital things, including clothing, collectables, and bags.

Scheduling live in Instagram profile


For some time, Instagram has had the option of going live. With this new add-on, users can now separate their lives from their posts or stories and timeline them on their profiles.
Profiles will receive a badge containing information from the live schedule to make this functionality more visible. Additionally, their followers will be allowed to opt-in to receive an alert when the live stream is accessible.

Instagram subscription


A different way to profit from Instagram In your bio, there would be a “Subscribe” button. You choose the monthly fee you wish to charge (from $0.99 to $99). You can have people subscribe to you. You make Instagram Stories and Lives just for them. You will be compensated.
Instagram is currently testing this new functionality with a select group of creators in the United States.

Enhanced tags


Instagram announced in April that enhanced product tagging is now available to everyone, rather than only creators and corporations. Users can now tag a company and or brand and indicate a product on uploaded feed posts with this release.
This means you may now offer credit to everyone who worked “behind the scenes.” Makeup artists, photographers, and designers can be tagged in your post to help them get identified as innovators and create new opportunities. Users can get extensive information about a product by tapping on the product tag. They can also buy the merchandise from either the app or the brand’s website.
This feature is available exclusively to users in the United States only.

Music sharing


Users can now share and upload music clips with their friends in their DMs on Instagram, and they can listen to them for 30 seconds. This is all thanks to the introduction of this feature by Instagram by uniting Amazon Music, Apple Music, and soon Spotify.

DM shortcut


Now, when you are scrolling through your timeline and you want to share a post or content with your friends, instead of going through the longer route of copying a post link and texting it to them in their dm, you can easily long tap the arrow icon beside the comment icon till your friends’ icons show up. You can select the user you want to send this post to.

Silent feature


This feature allows you to send a message to someone without sending them a push notification. After texting the intended message, add an @silent text to it and send it to enable this feature. This feature is best for when you are texting a person that may be asleep or does not want to be disturbed.

Who is online?


You can see who is online and available to what from the Instagram DM, just like you can in the Facebook Messenger app. This is indicated by a small green dot showing on their profile pictures in the message box. If you, however, do not like this new feature and do not want to be seen online, you could turn off your activity status in the settings.

Import your own audio


Formerly, you couldn’t make reels on Instagram using your own audio (audio on your device or audio extracted from a video), but now a new update makes that possible. You now worry less about Instagram not having your preferred song or sound on their music or sound list as you can easily import sounds or audio on your device to make a reel on Instagram by clicking on the import button.

Automatically synchronise reels with audio


If you want your photos or videos to flow in sync with the sound or music used, you could easily do that by pressing the carousel button on the top right side that is next to the green screen in reels. Select the preferred photos or videos, choose the music, and let Instagram work its magic.

Automatic caption for videos


With the new auto-generated caption feature for Instagram, you no longer have to type in captions manually anymore. You also have the option to turn off this feature. It could be done by putting it off in advanced settings before you upload the video. This feature is great for people with hearing disabilities or people who like watching videos with no sound.

Converting the story into a reel


Do you have nice content, pictures, videos, or memories in your story that you would like to convert into reels? Well, this cool new Instagram feature launched in April allows you to do this. All you have to do is convert the story into highlights first. After that, tap on the three dots at the phone’s screen bottom and select the “convert into reel” option.

Recommendation of posts in your home feed


This new update recommends a post based on a previous post you have liked or engaged in. This feature is best for people who have businesses, services, or shops on Instagram, as it promotes their products and services for free by recommending them to their supposed customers.

Instagram NTFs


This is the newest feature introduced to Instagram as of May 2022. This feature allows NFT owners, traders, and makers to showcase their products and creations on Instagram. Instagram has also revealed a new way for consumers to distribute NFTs they bought in stories, chats, or feeds to join the NFT community.

That’s about it for the list of the new features and updates to Instagram as of now. Please note that this list will be updated as new features and updates get launched as the year runs out.