Instagram

Instagram Testing Ability To Tap Through Certain Posts Rather Than Scroll

Likely inspired by its wildly successful Stories format, Instagram is testing a new interface elsewhere across the app that would enable users to tap through posts rather than scroll.

Instagram confirmed to Techcrunch

that it is testing the capability within the ‘Explore’ section of the app, which features Instagram-curated posts that are customized for every user based on the people they follow or posts that they have previously liked. The company said that it is “always testing ways to improve the experience on Instagram,” but clarified that it is not actively considering bringing the feature to the main feed. The test was first spotted by Twitter user Suprateek Bose (see below).

Techcrunch notes that the tap feature is mostly useful for photo posts, given that clips within the ‘Videos You Might Like’ section of Explore already auto-advance as soon as they’re done playing.

Subscribe to get the latest creator news

Subscribe

While scrolling may seem breezy enough to most, Techcrunch notes that “big thumbstrokes” on a mobile device “can get tiring after awhile” — adding that the tap feature also means that posts are available for fullscreen view in an instant (rather than the intervals that appear between posts while scrolling). Tapping would also presumably make it easier for users to pass through ads — though Instagram doesn’t display ads within the Explore tab as of yet.

Share
Published by
Geoff Weiss

Recent Posts

Jordan Matter, Michelle Khare, and Samir Chaudry are strategic advisors at a new creator education startup

As our industry becomes ever more populated by experts, and in the absence of collaborative…

6 hours ago

YouTube says Premium subscribers are “podcast super-users.” So it’s giving them more exclusive listening features.

With the amount of attention audio content is getting lately, we might as well rebrand…

7 hours ago

Have you heard? PewDiePie drops vlogs, Spy Ninjas spends $25 million, and Jason Kelce gets a YouTube show

Each week, we handpick a selection of stories to give you a snapshot of trends,…

8 hours ago

Netflix and Spotify just paid $100 million to take Jay Shetty’s podcast off YouTube

Netflix has visited the farm once again. The streamer and Spotify have together poached Jay…

1 day ago

What’s on the menu for the Sidemen? A cooking competition split between YouTube and Prime Video.

The creator supergroup that revived Supermarket Sweep on YouTube is ordering up another culinary competition.…

1 day ago

Meta officially offers perks for paying subscribers across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp

Meta is establishing paid subscription tiers across its network of social media platforms. A trio…

1 day ago