Instagram celebrates double digits with new features
Instagram turns 10 today, and for all the times the app has allowed us to share the fabulous (and embarrassing) moments we've had along the way, it's commemorating the milestone with brand new features.
The image- and video-based platform, which has become the go-to virtual scrapbook over the past decade, is re-creating the way Aussies share their memories.
A Stories map will provide Instagram users with a private space to mark the stories they've posted in the past three years, so they can reflect on their weirdest and most wonderful moments.
Online safety groups have warned about the risks of young people's photos being harvested onto other websites once they have been posted onto social media platforms, such as Instagram. AP
Whether it's a delectable meal or drunken night out with friends, users will be able to share, download and save the posts to their 'highlights', an editable profile space.
In addition, Instagram has created a "product timeline", an interactive and visual space to mark the platform's major milestones.
Memorable Australian moments include Zoe Foster Blake's "pregnancy reveal" in 2017, in which she mimicked Beyonce's twin pregnancy announcement, and the @AMEquality account that promoted marriage equality for the country's LGBTQIA+ community.
Key Instagram consumers will also be able to purchase products through IGTV, the video space that allows content creators and businesses to share videos up to 10 minutes long, for an "immersive" shopping experience.
While Instagram offers positive experiences for users, the app has also acknowledged the darker side of social media, introducing new protective measures for negative engagement.
The company will now have features centred on reducing degrading interactions.
The "hiding potentially offensive comments" function will automatically conceal comments similar to others that have been reported, with the option to view the comment upon tapping.
"Nudge warnings" will also allow users to warn people repeatedly posting offensive content, prompting them to reflect on the comments they're making.
It's welcome news, given girls' equality charity Plan International recently found 65 per cent of young women across Australia between the age of 15 and 25 have been exposed to online violence.
The charity addressed social media platforms in a powerful open letter this week, calling on networks to "end online harassment" and "create stronger reporting mechanisms for violence that meet girls' needs and hold perpetrators to account."
"We love your platforms, they're a huge part of our daily lives. We use them not just to connect with friends, but to lead and create change," it reads.
"But they are not safe for us. We get harassed and abused on them. Every. Single. Day."
Launching its campaign under the hashtag #FreeToBeOnline, Plan International implored social networks: "Be our allies! Speak to us! Listen to our experiences! Work with us."
Instagram's updates follows the news that Facebook will be integrating the 'chat' feature across multiple platforms, including WhatsApp and Messenger.
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