New Instagram Features — What the App Surprised Us With in 2024
Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2025 8:49 am
The note function has been expanded to include the ability to record a short, looping video.
Instagram allows you to opt out of read confirmation.
There is an option to create reels based on another creator's template.
Recently, we can download Instagram Reels to our own gallery on our phone.
Taking inspiration from TikTok, the app introduces the ability to monetize reels via Instagram Gifts.
Instagram has enabled the creation of original templates within the "your turn" feature.
The service introduces blocks and notifications focused on protecting the youngest users.
Instastories now has the option of creating stickers from your own photos.
Contents
Looped video in notes
Opting out of receiving a read confirmation message
Create an Instagram Reel Using a Template
Downloading rolls to your camera gallery
Instagram Gifts - Virtual Gifts for Reel Creators
Add-your-own templates for Stories
Protecting Teen Users
Notifications encouraging you to close apps at night
Creating stickers for Instastories
Social media is dynamic and constantly developing. In order to attract and retain its users, it offers many diversifications and innovative solutions. Instagram is one of the services that most efficiently respond to new trends and changing needs of Internet users. In recent months, the platform has introduced a number of new features. These are intended to enable individual creators, as well as companies, to use the platform more fully, as well as to present their potential. In the last three months of 2024, Instagram has launched many new initiatives, which we will look at in today's article.
Looped video in notes
In the post "Top 5 new things on Instagram 2023/2024!" we wrote about the new option of sharing notes with your followers. Notes are concise, 60-character maximum entries, visible for up to 24 hours in the private messages panel, next to our profile. Since the introduction of this feature, Instagram has expanded it with new solutions .
Now, when creating notes in the private messages panel, we have the option of adding a short, looping video that will appear next to our note for 24 hours. During this time, the video will replace our profile picture displayed at the top of the inbox. It will only be visible to people who can reply to our notes using messages.
In addition, Instagram has enabled users to respond to notes not only using text, but also voice messages, stickers, and GIFs. Instagram, by introducing these options, probably aimed to further activate young Instagram users, because statistically, teenagers are 10 times more likely to use the note-taking function on the service.
Instagram notes
Opting out of receiving a read confirmation message
Until now, users with whom we are talking via private chat on Instagram could see whether their last sent message was read by us. Now the service allows you to disable read confirmation. Then our conversation partners will not be informed that we have seen their message .
We can activate this option generally for all chats we have. We can do this by going to settings, then selecting "messages and replies to stories", where we click on the "show read receipts" tab.
We can also decide about this function individually and run it only for specific users or group chats . Then we enter the name of the given user and choose the setting "Privacy and security", where we can enable the option in question.
Message read receipts
Create an Instagram Reel Using a Template
Instagram has added the option to create your own reel based on another creator's template. Templates allow you to use the same sound and timing as the original reel. Instead of the original photo or video clip, users can insert their own creations.
The new feature is in the prototype stage . In the settings section when publishing a roll, users have been given the option to agree that our original roll can also act as a template.
Downloading rolls to your camera gallery
We recently wrote about this new feature in an article about creating Instagram and Facebook rolls . The app allows you to save public rolls to your camera gallery . All you need to do is tap the "share" icon next to the selected roll, and then morocco phone numbers click the "download" function, which is right before the "copy link" option. Instagram will then save the selected recording to your phone, displaying a message informing you that the downloaded materials cannot be used for commercial purposes.
Instagram Gifts - Virtual Gifts for Reel Creators
Another novelty also concerns the area of Instagram reels and it is a function directly inspired by the one available for a long time on TikTok. The company Meta proposed the possibility of monetizing its video creations by receiving virtual gifts sent by followers.
The idea is for users to buy stars on the site and then send them as gifts to their favorite influencers. The platform will give a monthly share of the revenue from the reels to the creators who receive the gifts. To be eligible to receive them, creators must exceed a threshold of 5,000 followers, have a professional and verified account, be at least 18 years old, and meet the monetization criteria set by Meta.
For now, the Instagram Gifts feature is not available in Poland (March 2024) , but now when adding a reel, Polish users can indicate that they allow receiving gifts for a given publication. This consent can be found in advanced settings. It will probably be important in the future, when Meta introduces the option of monetizing video creations to the European market as well.
Gifts on a roll
Add-your-own templates for Stories
Instagram has been offering the “Your Turn” option for a long time, somewhat reminiscent of Internet chains . This feature allows you to respond to questions or encouragements created by other users through your stories. This option has proven to be a great success, supporting the development of the Instagram community. Users, using the described feature, show, for example, their favorite books and music. Chains with monthly summaries are also popular. During this time, dedicated accounts were created on Instagram, dealing with creating stickers with the “your turn” function, e.g. @addyourstickers.
Instagram, in response to the millions of users who loved this feature, has enabled the creation of original templates inside the "your turn" feature . Now you can create extended versions of templates to reshare, using not only text, but also a variety of graphic creations from your camera gallery, as well as stickers and GIFs.
To create your own template, select the "your turn templates" function in the stories creation field and then add any elements that will make up your creation (e.g. an image, a gif, a call-to-action text). This option is ideal for companies that want to increase their customer engagement through interactive content, which is key in Instagram promotion and social media promotion .
The app also offers the option to use Instagram's own templates, which appear on the stories screen after selecting the "your turn" function and then pressing the cubes displayed at the bottom of the screen, as in the graphic below:
Story templates
Protecting Teen Users
Instagram has been paying a lot of attention to its teen users lately, with the site saying it is taking more steps to protect young people from potentially harmful content that can be found using the service.
Instagram says it is limiting the visibility of content that deals with struggling with suicidal thoughts and self-harm to young people :
Take someone who writes about constantly struggling with self-destructive thoughts. This is an important voice and can help destigmatize the issue. At the same time, this is a complex topic and not necessarily appropriate for all young people. Now, we will start to erase this type of content from the teen experience on Instagram and Facebook. This also applies to other types of content that is inappropriate for their age. We already try not to show teens this type of content on Reels and Explore. Along with these changes, we will also not show teens sensitive content on Feed and Stories, even if it is posted by a profile they follow.
You can read more about it in the original post on the Instagram blog .
Notifications encouraging you to close apps at night
Remaining on the subject of the latest changes introduced by Instagram for the benefit of young users, it is impossible not to mention one more new thing. Instagram announced the introduction of night notifications aimed at young people. The messages sent by the application are to encourage people to refrain from browsing the service late at night . Meta informs that:
Sleep is important, especially for young people’s development. That’s why we’re introducing new nighttime notifications that will pop up when young users spend more than 10 minutes on Instagram late at night, in areas like Reels or private messages. These messages will remind teens of the late hour and encourage them to close the app.
Creating stickers for Instastories
The last feature we mentioned in this article is certainly the one that many people have been waiting for. Instagram has finally made it possible to cut out characteristic parts of photos and create stickers from them within the app. This is an option that iPhone users have loved for some time now, when a similar option appeared in iOS 16. Now every Instagram user, regardless of their phone's software , can use this feature to create their own stories!
Creating stickers
These activities are part of a broader trend of responsible social media management, which is extremely important not only for individual users but also for companies and brands. Responsible Facebook management and corporate Facebook management should take into account the safety and well-being of young users, which increases trust in the brand.
Instagram allows you to opt out of read confirmation.
There is an option to create reels based on another creator's template.
Recently, we can download Instagram Reels to our own gallery on our phone.
Taking inspiration from TikTok, the app introduces the ability to monetize reels via Instagram Gifts.
Instagram has enabled the creation of original templates within the "your turn" feature.
The service introduces blocks and notifications focused on protecting the youngest users.
Instastories now has the option of creating stickers from your own photos.
Contents
Looped video in notes
Opting out of receiving a read confirmation message
Create an Instagram Reel Using a Template
Downloading rolls to your camera gallery
Instagram Gifts - Virtual Gifts for Reel Creators
Add-your-own templates for Stories
Protecting Teen Users
Notifications encouraging you to close apps at night
Creating stickers for Instastories
Social media is dynamic and constantly developing. In order to attract and retain its users, it offers many diversifications and innovative solutions. Instagram is one of the services that most efficiently respond to new trends and changing needs of Internet users. In recent months, the platform has introduced a number of new features. These are intended to enable individual creators, as well as companies, to use the platform more fully, as well as to present their potential. In the last three months of 2024, Instagram has launched many new initiatives, which we will look at in today's article.
Looped video in notes
In the post "Top 5 new things on Instagram 2023/2024!" we wrote about the new option of sharing notes with your followers. Notes are concise, 60-character maximum entries, visible for up to 24 hours in the private messages panel, next to our profile. Since the introduction of this feature, Instagram has expanded it with new solutions .
Now, when creating notes in the private messages panel, we have the option of adding a short, looping video that will appear next to our note for 24 hours. During this time, the video will replace our profile picture displayed at the top of the inbox. It will only be visible to people who can reply to our notes using messages.
In addition, Instagram has enabled users to respond to notes not only using text, but also voice messages, stickers, and GIFs. Instagram, by introducing these options, probably aimed to further activate young Instagram users, because statistically, teenagers are 10 times more likely to use the note-taking function on the service.
Instagram notes
Opting out of receiving a read confirmation message
Until now, users with whom we are talking via private chat on Instagram could see whether their last sent message was read by us. Now the service allows you to disable read confirmation. Then our conversation partners will not be informed that we have seen their message .
We can activate this option generally for all chats we have. We can do this by going to settings, then selecting "messages and replies to stories", where we click on the "show read receipts" tab.
We can also decide about this function individually and run it only for specific users or group chats . Then we enter the name of the given user and choose the setting "Privacy and security", where we can enable the option in question.
Message read receipts
Create an Instagram Reel Using a Template
Instagram has added the option to create your own reel based on another creator's template. Templates allow you to use the same sound and timing as the original reel. Instead of the original photo or video clip, users can insert their own creations.
The new feature is in the prototype stage . In the settings section when publishing a roll, users have been given the option to agree that our original roll can also act as a template.
Downloading rolls to your camera gallery
We recently wrote about this new feature in an article about creating Instagram and Facebook rolls . The app allows you to save public rolls to your camera gallery . All you need to do is tap the "share" icon next to the selected roll, and then morocco phone numbers click the "download" function, which is right before the "copy link" option. Instagram will then save the selected recording to your phone, displaying a message informing you that the downloaded materials cannot be used for commercial purposes.
Instagram Gifts - Virtual Gifts for Reel Creators
Another novelty also concerns the area of Instagram reels and it is a function directly inspired by the one available for a long time on TikTok. The company Meta proposed the possibility of monetizing its video creations by receiving virtual gifts sent by followers.
The idea is for users to buy stars on the site and then send them as gifts to their favorite influencers. The platform will give a monthly share of the revenue from the reels to the creators who receive the gifts. To be eligible to receive them, creators must exceed a threshold of 5,000 followers, have a professional and verified account, be at least 18 years old, and meet the monetization criteria set by Meta.
For now, the Instagram Gifts feature is not available in Poland (March 2024) , but now when adding a reel, Polish users can indicate that they allow receiving gifts for a given publication. This consent can be found in advanced settings. It will probably be important in the future, when Meta introduces the option of monetizing video creations to the European market as well.
Gifts on a roll
Add-your-own templates for Stories
Instagram has been offering the “Your Turn” option for a long time, somewhat reminiscent of Internet chains . This feature allows you to respond to questions or encouragements created by other users through your stories. This option has proven to be a great success, supporting the development of the Instagram community. Users, using the described feature, show, for example, their favorite books and music. Chains with monthly summaries are also popular. During this time, dedicated accounts were created on Instagram, dealing with creating stickers with the “your turn” function, e.g. @addyourstickers.
Instagram, in response to the millions of users who loved this feature, has enabled the creation of original templates inside the "your turn" feature . Now you can create extended versions of templates to reshare, using not only text, but also a variety of graphic creations from your camera gallery, as well as stickers and GIFs.
To create your own template, select the "your turn templates" function in the stories creation field and then add any elements that will make up your creation (e.g. an image, a gif, a call-to-action text). This option is ideal for companies that want to increase their customer engagement through interactive content, which is key in Instagram promotion and social media promotion .
The app also offers the option to use Instagram's own templates, which appear on the stories screen after selecting the "your turn" function and then pressing the cubes displayed at the bottom of the screen, as in the graphic below:
Story templates
Protecting Teen Users
Instagram has been paying a lot of attention to its teen users lately, with the site saying it is taking more steps to protect young people from potentially harmful content that can be found using the service.
Instagram says it is limiting the visibility of content that deals with struggling with suicidal thoughts and self-harm to young people :
Take someone who writes about constantly struggling with self-destructive thoughts. This is an important voice and can help destigmatize the issue. At the same time, this is a complex topic and not necessarily appropriate for all young people. Now, we will start to erase this type of content from the teen experience on Instagram and Facebook. This also applies to other types of content that is inappropriate for their age. We already try not to show teens this type of content on Reels and Explore. Along with these changes, we will also not show teens sensitive content on Feed and Stories, even if it is posted by a profile they follow.
You can read more about it in the original post on the Instagram blog .
Notifications encouraging you to close apps at night
Remaining on the subject of the latest changes introduced by Instagram for the benefit of young users, it is impossible not to mention one more new thing. Instagram announced the introduction of night notifications aimed at young people. The messages sent by the application are to encourage people to refrain from browsing the service late at night . Meta informs that:
Sleep is important, especially for young people’s development. That’s why we’re introducing new nighttime notifications that will pop up when young users spend more than 10 minutes on Instagram late at night, in areas like Reels or private messages. These messages will remind teens of the late hour and encourage them to close the app.
Creating stickers for Instastories
The last feature we mentioned in this article is certainly the one that many people have been waiting for. Instagram has finally made it possible to cut out characteristic parts of photos and create stickers from them within the app. This is an option that iPhone users have loved for some time now, when a similar option appeared in iOS 16. Now every Instagram user, regardless of their phone's software , can use this feature to create their own stories!
Creating stickers
These activities are part of a broader trend of responsible social media management, which is extremely important not only for individual users but also for companies and brands. Responsible Facebook management and corporate Facebook management should take into account the safety and well-being of young users, which increases trust in the brand.