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The “Following” and “Favorites” feeds are rolling out now, giving Instagram users new chronological (aka algorithm-free) options for viewing content on the app.

The announcement explains that the update’s goal is to give you “ways to quickly see what you’re most interested in” on Instagram

📣 Chrono Update 📣Today, we’re launching two new chronological views for your Instagram Feed – Following and Favorites. These options give you more choice and control over what you see in the app. Let me know what you think 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/MBmPUUoGCV

— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) March 23, 2022

The two options will show posts in the order they’ve been posted. The tabs give you these options:

Following

The new Following feed lets you see the latest posts from all the accounts you follow.

Note: This Following feed is not the same as the Following tab that used to exist in the notifications menu in the app. (That feature was killed in 2019.)

Favorites

Similar to the Close Friends option, the Favorites list lets you add up to 50 accounts (editable at any time) so you can narrow your feed to those who you care the most about. Importantly, your Favorites are private to you and accounts will not be notified if you Favorite (or un-Favorite) them.

Notably, the typical, algorithmic Home feed will still be the default when you open the app. According to Tech Crunch, Instagram says this default behavior will remain because users are “more satisfied” with algorithmic feeds by default.

Why it Matters

Overall, this could be a very positive change for Instagram. The new option gives users more control over their experience at a time when people are more careful about currating their online time than ever before.

It is a tad confusing, though as there are really now THREE feeds on IG: Following (chronological), Favorites (tailored to your fav people/content), and Ranked (algorithm). It’s also unclear if this will affect some of Insta’s other key products like Stories and Reels: which accounts will show at the very top for Stories exploration and how/where will Reels show up?

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Instagram is Developing a Private, Shared Reels Feed for Friends

Here are a few more shareworthy items we’ve been reading this month…

Channel Updates & News:

• You can now search your Twitter DMS by keyword (@TwitterSupport)

• Meta Renames Ad Automation Tools (Social Media Today)

• New Tools to Help Group Admins Manage Misinformation (FB News)

• Snap buys brain-computer interface startup for future AR glasses (The Verge)

• Auto-generated captions coming to IG Feed videos (Instagram FB Page)

• Pinterest now lets you share Idea Pins (Pinterest Newsroom)

• Building a better Birdwatch (Twitter blog)

• “Wave Bar” lets you see and message online friends in Clubhouse (Clubhouse blog)

• TikTok nears Oracle deal in bid to allay US data concerns-sources (Reuters)

• Twitter Rolling Out New Image Alt Text Badge with Expandable Captions (Social Media Today)

• Twitter is Working on a New Podcasts Tab (Social Media Today)

• TikTok launches a music distribution platform, SoundOn (TechCrunch)

Stories & Analysis

• Facebook Advertisers Unexpectedly See Recovery After Apple Mess (The Information)

• Twitter Wants to Reinvent Itself, by Merging the Old With the New (NYTimes)

• Meta, TikTok Lead App Download Charts, While Snapchat Sees More Attention (Social Media Today)

• Snapchat turns off public 'heatmap' for Ukraine (The Verge)

• Guide: Turn Your Employer Brand Into a Growth Driver (LinkedIn marketing blog)

• Find the Top Skills by Role with 'Future of Skills' Data Tool (LinkedIn Talent Blog)

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