Instagram Brings New Features To Reels, Stories And Posts

Instagram believes that creators who really put in effort in their craft, inspire people and shape everyday culture. The app is committed to building more products to help creators like you grow and thrive on the platform. And these newly rolled-out updates are just a few of the ways Instagram is showcasing how it is investing in your success. Learn more about how they’re supporting creators across Instagram and Facebook.

“We’re always trying to build the best tools to help creators express their creativity, connect with their audiences and feel supported on our platform. Today we’re announcing a number of improvements to Reels, exciting new updates for feed photos & carousels, Stories, and new insights to help you better understand your performance,” revealed Instagram in their blog. The app has added new features, including custom AI stickers, photo filters, a clip hub and more.

Also Read: Instagram New Features: Collaborators In Broadcast Channels and Adding Lyrics To Reels

What’s New On Reels

Instagram is testing the ability for you to scale, crop, and rotate individual clips directly in the app. Save time while you’re editing with upcoming undo, redo, and Voiceover features. Explore creating more memeable content by adding clips with audio. Connect with your fans by playing with memes and inviting them to create their own remix. The company also added 10 new English text-to-speech voices (in select countries).

There are 6 new text fonts and styles available in hundreds of languages along with the text outline feature. And when you’re looking to find the right audio for your Reel, you can now access the audio browser, or trending audio from the top of the Camera Roll. It is now easier to edit your in-progress Reels by giving you a streamlined view of all your saved drafts, and the ability to preview, rename, and schedule them in advance.

Filters For Posts Are Back!

Explore different tones and moods for your posts with new filters. From subtle colour edits to options for expressive styles, these updates make it easy for you to try various looks and vibes for your posts. Find what you need more easily from your Camera Roll with better previews, and the ability to zoom, or search.

Improved Insights

Both Instagram and Facebook have introduced a new Reels metric called “Replays” and have updated the definition of Reels “Plays” to also include “Replays” in addition to “Initial Plays.” You may notice an increase in your Reels “Plays” as a result of this. Moreover, Meta is rolling out the ability for creators to see how many people are watching your reel in an interactive real-time Retention Chart in the coming months.

Instagram Stickers

Alongside a bevvy of creator updates, Instagram is adding a new feature that will allow users to create custom stickers for their Reels and Stories using AI. Driven by Meta’s Segment Anything AI model, the stickers can be created by uploading your own photos or videos from your phone’s Camera Roll, or choosing from eligible photos and videos on Instagram.

Similar to the image cutout feature that debuted with Apple’s launch of iOS 16, you can “cut out” any object within an image by touching and holding onto the subject. You can also choose to select the sticker’s subject manually. You then tap “Use Sticker” to add the saved sticker to your Reel or Story. Users will be able to access the feature from a new “Create” option under the sticker search entry box next to Poll, Add Yours, Quiz and others.

“Close Friends” Feature For Reels & Posts

A long-awaited feature, Instagram now allows users to limit their posts to selected users who are on their close friends list. Previously, the feature was limited to Instagram Stories and Notes. Now, it is set to arrive for posts and Reels shared on Instagram. The Meta-owned photo-sharing platform introduced the close friends feature in 2018. This feature has helped users share Stories with select smaller groups, especially the ones which they don’t want all their followers to see.

In a post shared on his Instagram Channel, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said: “Sharing with your Close Friends is now expanding to Feed and Reels. More types of posts with the same smaller group.” Another popular Meta-owned social media platform Facebook also allowed its users to limit their posts for a long time now. These posts remain restricted to certain groups of people on the user’s friends list. This feature is expected to fill a user’s Instagram Feed with posts from a more close-knit community, making the app offer a more private feel.

How to set up close friends on Instagram for posts and Reels:

• To limit a post or reel to close friends only, users need to select the Audience option that will appear before sharing any post.
  
• Users will have to select the Close Friends option and hit Done to enable the feature for each post and share their posts like they normally would.
  
• Users who are included in the close friends will be the only ones who will be able to see the photo, video, or reel you post.
  
• These posts will also have a green star icon indicating it was just shared to users on the close friends list.

The new features are rolling out starting November 15, 2023, on Instagram, but you may not immediately see them, as updates can take a few days to reach the full Instagram audience.