Instagram is testing a new feature that will allow users to see content from their friends that they may have missed. With this feature, Meta aims to make it easier to find original content from the people you follow, so you don’t miss it. The feature will show Story Highlights at the end of the Story tray (the area at the top of the screen that shows Stories from people you follow).
Instagram is preparing a new feature: Missed Story Highlights will now be visible on people’s profile
Story Highlights are collections of Stories that users display on their profile pages, which are not timed and do not disappear after 24 hours. This is different from standard Stories and offers a more persistent experience. The newly tested feature will only put this type of Featured content in front of users. So how will the new feature work? According to Meta:
- Users will see Story Highlights at the bottom of the tray after watching all available Stories of people they follow.
- Only Highlights created in the last week will be shown in this area.
- The feature will not include standard 24-hour Stories, but will focus only on Highlights saved to the profile page.
Instagram realized that users were missing out on original content from their friends as the platform was flooded with Reels and sponsored content. The new feature will make it easier for users to find original Story content from people they follow again.
In a statement to TechCrunch, a spokesperson for Meta said:
“We are constantly developing new ways to make it easier for people to connect on Stories. To that end, we’re testing the idea of showing recently created Story Highlights at the end of the Story tray.”
The new feature is currently being tested with a limited group of users. Depending on the results of the test, the feature may be expanded to all users. With the new feature, users will be able to recapture important moments in their Story content that they may have missed. As a result, users will see and interact with more content. In addition, friend-oriented stories, which have been lost due to the platform’s focus on sponsored and viral content, will be captured to some extent.
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