The Complete Guide to All of Instagram's Latest Updates

As of June 18th, 2024, this post has been updated to include all of Instagram's latest releases. 

Instagram's undergone a serious transformation since the summer of 2015. From Instagram Stories to promoted posts, you certainly should not feel bad if you're having a hard time grasping of all the latest features. Keeping up with the updates being pumped out is almost a full-time job (ours). At this frequency rate, even the most social savvy of marketers are still wrapping their heads around all the changes.

Instagram has continuously evolved with new update releases and features, reshaping how we consume images and making visual content more ubiquitous than ever. It has introduced new vocabulary and influenced aspects of our lives, from fashion and food to travel destinations. 

From Instagram Stories to promoted posts, the platform's endless features and updates have become second nature for social marketers. Keeping up with the constant stream of updates is almost a full-time job, even for the most experienced marketers.

In an effort to keep on top of everything, here is a full list of the Instagram updates from the time they opened up their API. 

Summer 2015

• The app finally accounts for vertical and horizontal photos. Some people were really bummed out about the whole square only format, making this update a real crowd-pleaser.
• Following the August announcement, the Instagram API officially opens up for biz in September. From this point on, users were going to have to get used to seeing a lot more ads as they scrolled through their feeds, whether they liked it or not. Through the year, the platform has also made improvements on the advertising format, introducing ad overlay, video carousel ads and dynamic ads. For all your advertising needs, you can go directly to Instagram.
• The direct message funtionality gets a makeover. Things become way easier to share in private thanks to added functions and a more intuitive process.

October 2015

• Boomerang: In late October, Instagram launched a separate app called Boomerang, bringing diversity to everyone's feeds and galleries. It grew quickly in popularity and has now become sort of ubiquitous. 'It’s not a photo. It’s not a gif. It’s a Boomerang.'

February 2016

• Switch Accounts: On February 8th, Instagram finally gave people what they wanted: the ability to switch accounts from inside the app instead of having to log out and log in every time. Social media managers the world over rejoiced and breathed a collective sigh of relief. This one was a long time coming.
• Video View Metric: Another big change came a few short days later on the 10th. With video on the rise and more brands incorporating the format into their content strategy, the sensible folks over at Instagram determined that counting views instead of likes was going to make for a more accurate performance barometer, so they released the video view count metric. This move was met with elation from users.

March 2016

• Goodbye to Chronological Feeds: Nothing could have prepared humanity for this. Instagram revealed that the app was switching the chronological feed to an algorithmic feed so that users could see the content they cared about the most, cough Facebook cough. It wasn't going to hit until a few months later, but giving fair warning was wise considering the apoplectic general response — the news was met with sheer horror, to put it mildly. Influencers panicked, while brands felt like they had been dealt a death sentence. (Breaking news: all accounts are still very much alive.)

April 2016

• Extended Videos: Here we go bringing up video again. Told you it was popular. So much so that Instagram decided to extend its video length to 60 seconds instead of 13. Big jump, we know. With Vine having fully bitten Insta's dust and Snapchat being hailed as the second coming, the move was fully acceptable to make by any skeptic's standards.
• April also marked the rumblings of the Explore page rehaul. Here's what has happened there thus far:
• Introduction of video channels.
• Introduction of topic and interest channels.
• Introduction of event channels.
• Introduction of Stories on Explore.

May 2016

• ‍New logo: Instagram changed its logo. A "new look" is what they called it (somewhere Christian Dior is rolling over in his grave). This update was met with, um, contention. Folks were not too keen on the new design, with some industry professionals taking it upon themselves to draw other suggestions. People seem to be over it now.

June 2016

• ‍New algorithm: The algorithm is fully live and users are finally experiencing it firsthand. It's not exactly love, but people will have to adapt, as they do.‍
• Business Accounts Introduced: Around the same time, Instagram announced that they will be releasing Instagram business account tools and profiles for company accounts in the near future. This was a long time coming for many and alleviated the blow of the algorithm for some. Here's what those tools mean for brands

July 2016

• Comment Section Moderation: In July 2016, Instagram introduced a significant update that allowed creators to moderate their comment sections. This feature was part of Instagram's broader efforts to give users more control over their experience on the platform and to address concerns about harassment and inappropriate content in the comment sections. This update enables users to filter out specific comments or entirely turn off comments on their posts.

August 2016

• Instagram Stories: Just one month ago, Instagram shocked the world in what was likely their biggest bombshell of a release yet, mostly because it was greatly unexpected: Stories, a feature very similar to Snapchat, where users can share photos and videos that appear at the top of user's feeds and are also accessible from the user's profile photo.‍
• Comment Moderation: This occurrence piggybacks onto the end of July, but around this time, it was learned that Instagram was going to enable a comment moderation functionality for bigger accounts. That's kind of a big deal, as it leaves companies and celebs with more power over the dialogue that's created around their space.‍
• Zoom: And finally, the latest news to hit the airwaves on the 31st is the release of the zoom function on posts.

September 2016

• ‍No More Photo Maps: In September 2016, Instagram made a notable update by removing the Photo Maps feature from the app. Photo Maps had allowed users to see a geotagged map of where they had posted photos. This feature was removed as part of Instagram's efforts to simplify the app and focus more on individual posts and privacy, as Photo Maps were not widely used and raised concerns about privacy and security.

November 2016

• Shoppable posts. This is what businesses had been waiting for — this news is welcomed with a huge gasp of excitement by brands the world over. Marketers are going to need to remember to tread carefully and not forget about the platform's sensibilities and user habits once the functionality goes live. It has yet to be officially released, but brands are currently testing within the US. This is going to be a hot one to watch.
• Instagram Stories updates: It's only normal that Instagram would continue to develop their Stories function to make it as good as possible. There was a batch of updates released in November, which included:‍
• Boomerang: Yep, Instagram's cult favorite not-a-gif-not-a-video format was integrated into Stories. Why would they let the permanent galleries have all the fun?!‍
• @ Mentions: People can now tag other users directly into their Stories.‍
• Swipe up for more: This one only applies to verified accounts, but this functionality essentially enables users to attach external links to their clips to redirect their audience members. This is big time for businesses.‍
• Vertical ad format: It's only natural that they would want to cater to that community, which is exactly what releasing vertical ads does. The portrait format certainly optimizes Instagram sponsored posts.
• Instagram Live: Instagram Live is a function that derives from Stories, and it's simple to go live on Instagram. This means you can stream yourself talking and engage with whomever joins your live.
• DM Instagram Stories: This was a no-brainer to implement: for all those Stories snippets that you want to send privately to certain individuals, or groups. Sharing in the moment has never been easier.

December 2016

• Saved posts: How many times have you taken a screenshot of a post to save it for future reference, only to never think of it again and clog up your camera roll? We feel you, and so do the folks at Insta HQ, cause they made a save button for users to be able to anonymously house all of those posts they're dying to revisit at a later time.
• More Instagram Stories updates: The Instagram sprites were hard at work before Christmas, eager to deliver the goods before D-day, no doubt. Here's what they dropped:
• Stickers: This includes the ability to pepper your Stories with emojis and geotags. Fun x1000.
• Holiday things: This was short lived due to the timely nature of the update, but Instagram offered a special candy cane drawing brush and yuletide-centric stickers. Right on time to boost usage and engagement over the holiday period. Smart.
• Hands-free camera: This is definitely a first for any ephemeral video platform, cough, Snapchat, cough.
• More text options: Users are now able to write as much as they want, include as many text boxes as they want, and resize that text into any desired dimension.‍
• Save your entire story in one go: From the last 24 hours, of course.Just one month ago, Instagram shocked the world in what was likely their biggest bombshell of a release yet, mostly because it was greatly unexpected. Anecdotes came into this world and left literally no one indifferent, including us. Doubly shocking because Instagram Stories are so similar to Snapchat, an observation that even Mr. Systrom himself corroborated. Side note: who else is insanely curious to know what the secret project name was when they were working on it? But I digress.
• This occurrence piggybacks onto the end of July, but around this time, it was learned that Instagram was going to enable a comment moderation functionality for bigger accounts. That's kind of a big deal, as it leaves companies and celebs with more power over the dialogue that's created around their space.
• And finally, the latest news to hit the airwaves on the 31st is the release of the zoom function on posts.

January 2017

• Business insights for Stories. Instagram has just announced that they are working on insights for Stories, in a similar capacity as what is already available to those with business profiles. These stats will include reach, impressions, replies and exits for each individual clip that gets published. This could be a game changer, especially in the Snapchat-Insta Story battle.
• Ads in Stories. This was bound to happen. Snapchat did it, and with Instagram continually enhancing their ads platform, the integration of ads between user Stories was imminent.

February 2016

• On February 8th, Instagram finally gave people what they wanted: the ability to switch accounts from inside the app instead of having to log out and log in every time. Social media managers the world over rejoiced and breathed a collective sigh of relief. This one was a long time coming.
• Another big change came a few short days later on the 10th. With video on the rise and more brands incorporating the format into their content strategy, the sensible folks over at Instagram determined that counting views instead of likes was going to make for a more accurate performance barometer, so they released the video view count metric. This move was met with elation from users.
  

March 2016

Nothing could have prepared humanity for this. Instagram revealed that the app was switching the chronological feed to an algorithmic feed so that users could see the content they cared about the most, cough Facebook cough. It wasn't going to hit until a few months later, but giving fair warning was wise considering the apoplectic general response — the news was met with sheer horror, to put it mildly. Influencers panicked, while brands felt like they had been dealt a death sentence. (Breaking news: all accounts are still very much alive.)

April 2016

• Here we go bringing up video again. Told you it was popular. So much so that Instagram decided to extend its video length to 60 seconds instead of 13. Big jump, we know. With Vine having fully bitten Insta's dust and Snapchat being hailed as the second coming, the move was fully acceptable to make by any skeptic's standards.
• April also marked the rumblings of the Explore page rehaul. Here's what has happened there thus far:
• Introduction of video channels
• Introduction of topic and interest channels
• Introduction of event channels
• Introduction of Stories on Explore

May 2016

• Instagram changed its logo. A "new look" is what they called it (somewhere Christian Dior is rolling over in his grave). This update was met with, um, contention. Folks were not too keen on the new design, with some industry professionals taking it upon themselves to draw other suggestions. People seem to be over it now.

June 2016‍

• ‍New algorithm: The algorithm is fully live and users are finally experiencing it firsthand. It's not exactly love, but people will have to adapt, as they do.‍
• Business Accounts Introduced: Around the same time, Instagram announced that they will be releasing Instagram business account tools and profiles for company accounts in the near future. This was a long time coming for many and alleviated the blow of the algorithm for some. Here's what those tools mean for brands.

July 2016

• ‍Comment Section Moderation: In July 2016, Instagram introduced a significant update that allowed creators to moderate their comment sections. This feature was part of Instagram's broader efforts to give users more control over their experience on the platform and to address concerns about harassment and inappropriate content in the comment sections. This update enables users to filter out specific comments or entirely turn off comments on their posts.
  

February 2017 

• ‍Carousels: In February 2017, Instagram gave users the ability to upload multiple posts at once in a carousel format.

March 2017

• Save Posts: Instagram rolled out its "Save" feature globally, enabling users to bookmark posts in a private section.

June 2018

• Launch of IGTV: Instagram’s long-form video platform, allowing users to upload videos up to an hour long in a dedicated app space.

July 2018

• Question Sticker in Stories: Introduced the ability for users to post questions in their Stories that followers can respond to.

November 2018

• ‍Your Activity Feature: Launched a feature that allows users to track how much time they spend on Instagram daily.

December 2018

• Voice Messaging: Added the ability to send voice messages in Direct Messages.

February 2019

• Donation Sticker: Rolled out a donation sticker in Stories to allow users to raise money for nonprofits.

October 2019

• Removal of the 'Following' Tab: Instagram removed the tab that showed the activity (like posts and comments) of followed accounts.

May 2020

• Introduction of Guides: Launched Guides, a feature that allows users to share and consume curated content.

June 2020

• Reels Introduced: Announced the launch of Reels in Brazil, a new way to create and discover short, entertaining videos.
• Pinnable Comments: The ability to pin Instagram comments is available to creators. 

August 2020 

• Instagram launches Reels, their answer to TikTok.

October 2020

• New messaging features: Instagram introduces new messaging features.

May 2020

• Introduction of Guides: Launched Guides, a feature that allows users to share and consume curated content.

April 2020

• Hidden Likes: Instagram introduces hiding like count, aiming to reduce competitive pressure.

March 2020

• ‍Co-watching: At the onset of the pandemic, they introduced Co-Watching, which let users view posts with others during video chat.

February 2020

• ‍Following Tab: New ‘Following’ categories are introduced for users profiles.

January 2020

• ‍IGTV Removed: Instagram removes the IGTV button from the home screen.

December 2020

• Shopping in Reels: Enabled shopping features within Reels, allowing users to buy products directly.

January 2021

• Professional Dashboard: Launched a new dashboard to help creators and businesses manage their presence on the platform.

April 2021

• Stories Caption Sticker: Instagram releases a Stories Caption Sticker, and the ability to turn off video and audio on Instagram Live.

May 2021 

• New Analytics: Users can now explore video performance via Reels Insights.

June 2021

• Algorithm Unveiled: Instagram unveils their official explanation of the Instagram algorithm. 

July 2021

• Text Translation: Instagram Stories offers text translations. The app also introduces expanded data tracking on Instagram Stories.

August 2021

• Favorites and Following Sorting: Tested new feed sorting options to give users more control over their feed.
• Hide Messages: Instagram lets users hide abusive messages. They also introduce the Audio Tab, so users can explore every public Reel for that specific Reels sound.  

September 2021

• Swipe-up: Selected users can use Swipe-Up Links and Map Search on Instagram Stories.

October 2021

• Expansion of Reels to 60 Seconds: Extended the maximum length of Reels from 30 seconds to 60 seconds.

November 2021

• Badges: Instagram launches Instagram Badges for live videos.

December 2021

• New Stickers: Customized Link Stickers on Instagram Stories and new safety features.

March 2022

• Enhanced Tags: Introduced Enhanced Tags to give credit to collaborators in a post more visibly.

April 2022

• Need for Text-Based Features Identified: Business magnate Elon Musk attempted a takeover of Twitter, leading to discussions at Meta about enhancing Instagram's text-based features.

May 2022

• Digital Collectibles: Started supporting NFTs, allowing creators and collectors to share digital collectibles on their profiles.

December 2023

• Threads for EU: After a delay due to privacy concerns, Threads was launched in the European Union.

February 2023

• Quiet Mode: Launched a new feature to help users focus by pausing notifications and setting status to inform others.

April 2023 

• Pinning Posts to Profile: Allowed users to pin posts to the top of their profiles to highlight their favorite shares.

June 2023

• AI Moderation Tools: Expanded testing of AI-powered moderation tools to improve content safety on the platform.

July 2023

• Meet Threads: Meta Platforms launched Threads, an online social media and networking service closely linked to Instagram. Threads is designed for real-time conversations and sharing, providing a similar experience to Twitter.

August 2023

• Threads for Desktop: Meta launched the web version of the Threads app.

January 2024

• Stricter Message Settings for Teens: Enhanced features to provide safer online interactions for teenagers.

February 2024

• Expansion of Creator Marketplace: Enhanced the creator marketplace to facilitate more collaborations between brands and creators.

March 2024

• New DM Features: Added features like message editing up to 15 minutes after sending and the ability to pin up to three chats.

April 2024

• Stickers in Stories: Introduced new stickers in Instagram Stories to enhance interaction.

May 2024

• Feed with No Ads or Suggested Posts: Allowed users to view feeds only from followed accounts, without ads or suggested posts.

June 2024

• Reels Editing Features: Launched new editing features for Reels to increase creative flexibility, such as split and speed controls.

The sequence of changes at Instagram can pretty much be pinpointed back to one specific moment in time. No, not being purchased by Facebook — It actually took years for major fundamental things to happen after that acquisition. It was last summer's unlocking of the API that opened the floodgates to phase 2.0.

Some users had been clamoring for this kind of change for a long time. And by that I mean all of those using their accounts for business, not mortal folks like you and I who enjoy cute puppies and memes. While brands were grateful for this free image vehicle and finally embracing Instagram as a legitimate marketing channel — heck, even made a priority by the most clever — one pretty major obstacle remained.

Instagram was not equipped to get the consumer (follower) from cruising through images to being able to actually interact with brand product outside the app. No active links, no direct way to purchase, no official entity collateral on profiles — not to mention, nominal ad opportunities. But since 2017, the app's been making huge strides in showing some love to brands that have embraced it as a part of their marketing arsenal. The series of major updates that have been rolling out fairly steadily since 2017 have all proved to be somewhat of a show of support to the companies that are investing in Instagram. While it took a minute for Instagram to begin toying with the functionalities that benefit businesses, it appears as though they are hearing brands loud and clear and making huge efforts to bring them value — without compromising user experience.

Amplify Your Brand on Instagram with Dash Hudson

Dash Hudson’s Instagram Insights offers brands the ability to plan, schedule, post and publish their content — plus, social teams can pull in meaningful performance updates about how their static posts, Reels, Stories and campaigns perform. Plus, Dash Hudson's Content Performance Prediction determines which visual content from your asset library has the best chances of performing, so you know you’re always sharing the best content. Along with this, Content Segmentation lets you create custom categories and report on specific groups of content, so you can pinpoint which campaigns and content types (think UGC or even AI-created content) are performing best.