Instagram wants to make it easier for users to discover Stories they might be interested in.
The social media giant is bringing the popular ephemeral content to its Explore tab, where users can discover content they’re interested in based on their activity in the app.
It comes as Stories have quickly become a popular way for users to post content on Facebook and Instagram, as the News Feed has fallen out of favor.
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The social media giant is bringing the popular ephemeral content to its Explore tab, where users can discover content they’re interested in based on their activity in the app
‘To help people experience the full breadth of interest content on Instagram, the redesigned Explore grid will now feature Stories,’ Instagram wrote in a blog post.
‘In the same way that Explore recommends posts based on topics you’re interested in, the grid will now provide you with personalized Stories recommendations.’
This feature is expected to begin rolling out in the coming weeks, the firm added.
Along with adding Stories, Instagram is also rolling out a new navigation bar to the top of the Explore page.
Now, there are tabs that help users navigate to IGTV and Shopping, as well as explore other popular interests like food, travel and art.
Each tab is catered to a user’s interests, the company said.
The new navigation tab in Explore is now available for users in the US starting today
The new navigation tab in Explore is now available for users in the US starting today.
‘By tapping on “IGTV,” you’ll see the recently updated home for IGTV, where you can browse a personalized feed of recommended videos from creators you follow or may want to follow,’ Instagram said.
‘By tapping on “Shop,” you’ll now have access to category filters in the navigation bar.
‘These filters let you browse specific types of products on Instagram, including Beauty, Clothing, Home Decor and more.’
The announcement comes as Instagram is killing off Direct, its standalone direct messaging app that was meant to rival Snapchat, just a few years after it was launched as a test, according to TechCrunch.
The app launched for select markets in 2017, including users in Uruguay, Chile, Turkey, Italy, Portugal and Israel.
Matt Navarra, a tech researcher, spotted some users were seeing alerts in the Direct app that seemed to indicate it was winding down for good.
The alert said: ‘In the coming month, we’ll no longer be supporting the Direct app. Your conversations will automatically move over to Instagram, so you don’t need to do anything.’
Instagram later confirmed the move to end the Direct app.
‘We’re rolling back the test of the standalone Direct app,’ a spokesperson told TechCrunch.
‘We’re focused on continuing to make Instagram Direct the best place for fun conversations with your friends.’
It’s not clear why Instagram decided not to continue with an official launch of the Direct app.
Instagram will still roll out new features for direct messaging, but they’ll appear in the main app, TechCrunch noted.
Aside from Direct, Instagram had also been rumored to be launching a standalone app for shopping, where users could browse items from their favorite brands and purchase them in the app.
Given how the standalone Direct app fared among test users, it’s possible Instagram could take this data and apply it to their decision to launch a standalone Shopping app.
The Direct app was installed over 1.35 million times worldwide, with the majority of users downloading it hailing from Turkey and Italy, SensorTower data showed, according to TechCrunch.
