Instagram says it's developing a new Favorites feature
What's the story
To date, Instagram users have no choice but to see what the algorithm shows them at the top of their feeds. That could change soon since the Facebook-owned social media platform has confirmed it is developing a new feature called Favorites. This would allow users to select certain accounts whose posts they would like to see higher up in their feed. Here's more.
More control
Favorites would help address user complaints about Instagram's News Feed
Reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi claims to have found a new pushpin icon for Favorites in the Instagram Settings menu, including other details about how the feature might work. Users will be able to populate their Favorites list from the accounts they are following. Favorites can be edited at any time and users won't be notified when they are added to someone's Favorites list.
Confirmation
Instagram confirmed the feature is an internal prototype
This is similar to the "Close Friends" feature that allows Instagram users to create a separate list of followers with whom they can share personal Instagram Stories. Paluzzi remarked that he was able to add followers to Favorites, but the Instagram feed didn't change afterward. Instagram refused to divulge details but told TechCrunch that the feature is an internal prototype not being tested externally.
No specificity
Instagram Favorites could take after similar Facebook feature
Favorites could be a new idea for Instagram but a similar feature already exists on Facebook. The latter allows users to select up to 30 friends or Facebook Pages whose posts will be prioritized and shown higher up in the News Feed. It remains unclear if Instagram Favorites would have a limit to the number of followers that can be added to the list.
Big picture
Favorites could help when you check Instagram after a hiatus
Favorites could play into Instagram's plans to establish itself as a content creation hub. This is corroborated by another in-development feature called "Fan Subscriptions" discovered by Paluzzi. It would allow users to pay for access to exclusive content from creators, including live videos or Stories. Favorites could also help catch up on important posts if you don't use Instagram often.