‎Instagram App

Since February 2017, up to ten pictures or videos can be included in a single post, with the content appearing as a swipeable carousel. The feature was updated in April 2017 to let users organize saved posts into named collections. Users can upload photographs and short videos, follow other users’ feeds, and geotag images with the name of a location. On August 2, 2024, Turkey blocked Instagram after the platform deleted posts from users offering condolences for the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. This feature allows users to share updates as short text posts of up to 60 characters with certain people, who can then reply to them using messaging on Instagram. It was integrated with Instagram’s “Close friends” feature, so that users could send images, photos, and texts privately to others, and also had Instagram’s photo editing system embedded into the app.

Their study showed presence of depressive symptoms in a user could positively predict they would post. Khodarahimi & Fathi 2017 found evidence users displayed higher levels of depressive and anxious symptoms compared to non-users. 13% of British and 6% of American teenager users with suicidal thoughts could trace them to Instagram use.

Censorship and restricted content

In the U.S., there is relatively little government regulation of social media content, with most content removal taking place on a voluntary basis by the companies. According to the IFJ, Instagram is popular among Iranians because it is seen as an outlet for freedom and a “window to the world”.Still, Iran has sentenced citizens to prison for posts made on their Instagram accounts. The Cuban government blocked access to several social media platforms, including Instagram, to curb the spread of information during the 2021 Cuban protests. Sometimes the phrase “Chinese Instagram” is used to refer to Xiaohongshu, a competitor social media app which is not to be confused with Instagram. People can’t buy things on Instagram, we are simply a place where people share photos and videos. We encourage people who come across illegal or inappropriate content to report it to us using the built-in reporting tools next to every photo, video or comment, so we can take action.

This setting can be changed to allow unlimited messages from other accounts that the user does not follow. Users can now only receive one direct message from accounts that they do not follow, and must approve the message request before further messages can be sent. In April 2020, Direct became accessible from the Instagram website, allowing users to send direct messages from a web version using WebSocket technology. A camera inside Direct lets users take a photo and send it to the recipient without leaving the conversation. Additionally, users can now reply to private messages with text, emoji or by clicking on a heart icon.

• On March 14, the ban took effect, with almost 80 million users losing access to Instagram.
• The app remains available on Windows 10 computers and tablets, also updated to a PWA in 2020.
• The Android version of Instagram was released in April 2012, followed by a feature-limited desktop interface in November 2012, a Fire OS app in June 2014, an app for Windows 10 in October 2016, and an app for iPadOS in September 2025.
• Despite the “TikTokification” of Reels and the parent company Meta spending millions on courting content creators, user engagement continued to lag way behind TikTok as of 2022.
• These researchers found that college students in the U.S. and China watch short-form videos for entertainment, knowledge, and to build social identities.

On March 14, the ban took effect, with almost 80 million users losing access to Instagram. On March 11, 2022, Russia announced it would ban Instagram due to alleged “calls for violence against Russian troops” on the platform during the ongoing 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. A few days after a fire incident that happened in the Koryo Hotel in North Korea on June 11, 2015, authorities blocked Instagram to prevent photos of the incident from being spread.

Instagram Direct

In November 2019, it was announced that Instagram would start to roll out a new feature to Brazil known as Instagram Reels. Albums were introduced in February 2017, which allow up to 10 minutes of video to be shared in one post. The tab was later expanded again in November 2016 after Instagram Live launched to display an algorithmically curated page of the “best” Instagram Live videos currently airing. In April 2016, Instagram added a “Videos You Might Like” channel to the tab, followed by an “Events” channel in August, featuring videos from concerts, sports games, and other live events, followed by the addition of Instagram Stories in October. The tab was updated in June 2015 to feature trending tags and places, curated content, and the ability to search for locations.

In 2021, Instagram announced that like counts would return to be publicly viewable by default. If some of the accounts violate Instagram’s community guidelines, it will take action, which could include banning them. Following the election of Donald Trump in 2025, various sources noted possible censorship related to the Democratic Party on Instagram and other Meta platforms.

Spotify for Artists

Similar to Snapchat, the app allowed users to communicate through messaging and video chats. Following the change, after viewing a number of posts a pop-up requires the user to log in to continue viewing content. Instagram later restricted the ability to view public profiles without logging in, prompting users to sign in after viewing a limited number of posts.

Instagram has been the subject of criticism due to users publishing images of drugs they are selling on the platform. Although the U.S. government has little direct power to force social media sites to remove specific content, Instagram has on occasion done so voluntarily, especially to avoid being seen as aiding the spread of fake news. In contrast, the level of agreement expressed in creating Instagram posts was lower, which demonstrates that Instagram’s emphasis on visual communication is widely accepted by young people in social communication. The motives for using Instagram among young people are mainly to look at posts, particularly for the sake of social interactions and recreation. https://jaya9betting.com Recently Instagram has come up with an option for users to apply for a verified account badge; however, this does not guarantee every user who applies will get the verified blue tick.

It functions similarly to the Chinese video service TikTok, focusing on allowing users to create short videos already set to existing sounds from other clips. Reels focuses on vertical videos that are less than 90 seconds of duration and various features for user interaction. IGTV allows uploads of up to 10 minutes in length with a file size of up to 650 MB, with verified and popular users allowed to upload videos of up to one hour in length with a file size of up to 5.4 GB.