Instagram now supports text updates with launch of Notes, adds other new sharing features

The new update launched on Tuesday (December 13) in a number of countries worldwide.

To get the December 2022 update, all you need to do is head to your iOS or Android App Store and update your app to the most recent version.

As soon as you’ve pressed ‘update’, all the new features will automatically appear on your Instagram and you can begin using them right away.

If there isn’t an update available, keep checking over the coming days as Instagram doesn’t always roll out features to all accounts at the same time. However, if the update still isn’t there, that means the new update and features probably aren’t available in your region yet.

Instagram introduced several new features this week to help you feel closer to the people you care about. Some are already available, while others are still being tested, so keep an eye out for them ??

?? *Notes* is a fun new way to share quick thoughts using only text and emojis, up to 60 characters. Notes appear at the top of your DMs Inbox and disappear after 24 hours.?

Instagram users can leave notes by going to the top of their inbox, then selecting the followers they follow back (aka mutuals) or others from their existing “Close Friends” list. They’ll then type out the note itself using 60 characters of just text or emoji. The note will appear at the top of friends’ inboxes for 24 hours and replies will arrive as DMs.

?? *Add Yours nominations* allow you to invite friends to participate in 'Add yours' stickers when you see a prompt that reminds you of them.

Now, Instagram is testing an update where you can specifically invite friends to participate by tapping “pass it on” when you see a trend you think they’d like. This feature is meant to combat one of the bigger threats from TikTok where users replicate trends, whether dances or skits or AI effects set to music, by posting their own take.

?? ??? *Candid Stories* are a new way to capture and share what you’re doing right now in a story... with a twist: your friends can only see it if they also share a Candid story. This feature is an obvious competitor to BeReal, which also locks friends’ content behind a blurred screen until you also post. And like BeReal, Candid sends out daily notification reminders.

?? ♀? *Group Profiles* are a new type of profile that allows you to share posts and stories with your friends in a dedicated, shared profile. When you share content to a Group Profile, only the members of that Group Profile can see it. It’s a cool format for groups of friends, big families, or small hobby communities. This seems to respond to how many younger people are already using Instagram — to post content to groups for their school, for example, or around some sort of theme. Before, these accounts would be managed by only select people with the account login who may curate content from submissions. Group Profiles could prompt greater participation as they reduce the barrier to posting.

?? *Collaborative Collections* create or add to a collaborative collection by saving posts directly from feed or DMs.

Collaborative Collections are another new way to connect with a group of friends. In this case, the idea is to allow a group to connect over a shared interest by saving posts to a new “collaborative collection” in a group or via 1-to-1 direct messages (DMs). Users can add to a collaborative collection by saving a post they come across in their feed or by sharing it with a friend over DM, then saving it from there.