Instagram Experiments With New Feature to Highlight User Interests

Instagram is testing a new feature called “Picks,” which aims to help users better connect with each other based on shared user interests.

Instagram launch a new feature within its app that is still in its early stage. The aim is to make it easier for people to find common ground within their network, encouraging them to interact in more meaningful ways.

What Is Instagram’s “Picks” Feature?

As Instagram rolls out a range of new features, it is also testing a new feature called “Picks.” This option would allow users to showcase their interests through their inbox Notes.

As shown in these sample screens uploaded by the app’s researcher Alessandro Paluzzi, Instagram is in the early stages in testing the Picks feature. The feature will be available via an icon that is located on the top of the email inbox within the application.

As seen in the second image above, the “Picks” feature will let users showcase their interests and “discover common ground with friends who share the same passions.”

For instance, users can look up a subject within the Picks interface and then choose from a set of topics.

It could serve as an additional method to foster greater connection within the app, aligning with Instagram’s core mission of uniting people.

Building on Instagram’s Focus on Connection

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has said the platform is maximizing both creativity and connection.

As per Mosseri:

“We’re also going to look for more ways to make recommendations and consuming content more interactive and more social, and we’re going to be exploring some new ways to connect with your friends on Instagram.”

Picks is one of those many engagement-encouraging features alongside the friend feed for Reels, the friend map, and reposting. All of these features help users find content and people based on the communities around interest, not just their posting.

Will It Work?

It’s a reasonable question. So far so good for the likes of spin-off features from Instagram like Notes which push an alert to members of the audience thanking a content creator for writing about them.

This means that increasingly, platforms like Instagram are becoming less rich veins of original content, and more interest-based. Picks would give people a chance to connect more deeply around interests rather than just what they decide to share.

Also, because Meta evolves algorithms based on user behavior in order to predict user preferences more competently, following or liking posts is becoming far less relevant.

Looking Ahead

As the platform identifies user interests based on behavior, this will influence both the marketer and the consumer experience. This is where Picks fits in as it will help users to express their interests more directly. It is an interesting test that could be useful to more Instagrammers as the feature grows up.