In a world saturated with polished AI content, audiences will crave raw, unfiltered authenticity. Creators can achieve this by eliminating filtering steps like scripting and heavy editing, thereby closing the gap between having an idea and posting it. This builds trust.
By reducing the maximum number of hashtags allowed in a caption from 30 down to just five, Instagram is sending its clearest signal yet that the relevance and effectiveness of hashtags for content discovery are being systematically and intentionally phased out.
After abandoning IGTV, Instagram is re-entering the living room by partnering with Amazon Fire TV. This move to put Reels on big screens indicates a strategic shift to compete with YouTube, suggesting the platform will begin prioritizing longer, horizontal video content.
Instagram introduced clickable links in Reels, but it's a closed-loop system designed to boost engagement on its own platforms. Links can only be added using Instagram's proprietary 'Edits' app and can only point to other Instagram profiles or Reels, not external websites.
Historically, Instagram Stories only reached existing followers, making them a retention tool. A new update allowing anyone to reshare any public Story transforms them into a growth engine, creating a virality loop that lets creators reach non-followers and gain new ones.
Instagram Head Adam Mosseri publicly states that third-party editing apps are not penalized. However, he also admitted that content made with Instagram's native 'Edits' app gets "slightly more reach," creating a confusing and implicit incentive for creators to adopt their tool.
Instagram has changed how it counts views, which may explain recent metric drops. A "view" is no longer counted when a user scrolls past a post on a profile or the Explore page; they must now explicitly tap on it. This corrects artificially high view counts and provides a more accurate metric.