We’ve selected 10 little-known or fun features to help you have a better Instagram experience!
Instagram is full of interesting little features, whether for Reels or Stories, but some are less visible than others. Today, we’re taking a behind-the-scenes look at the app, introducing you to 10 tools you might not have known existed…
1. Find all the Reels you liked this year
The year is coming to an end! So, which Reels have you liked since last January? Have your interests changed over the past year? If you’re in the mood for a little retrospective, just follow this path:
- Go to your Settings > Your Activity > Likes,
- Select the all dates option to choose the past year (you have a preview of this option in the image above),
- Then choose the Oldest to Newest option to see Reels liked since the beginning of the year, and that’s it!
2. Create your news feed with your favorite accounts
Tired of Instagram’s unruly algorithm? You can create your own feed with your favorite accounts:
- Go to your News Feed, and tap For You in the top left,
- Choose the Favorites option to choose your favorite accounts to follow.
Please note: this news feed is not displayed by default; you will need to tap the For You text in the top left corner when you open your app to view your personalized feed.
3. Use the shortcut to hide an account’s Stories
To sort through your infernal Stories spiral, there’s a useful shortcut! You can long-press a Story circle to mute the account with one click. Good to know: Instagram won’t alert the account that you’ve muted it. And if you change your mind? It’s not irreversible; you can go to the account’s profile and click Follow to unmute it.
4. Test the “Remix” or “Sequence” options for your Reels
Want to remix an existing Reel for a creative? There are two great options you can use for your Reel edits: Remix to create a Reel from a video or photo posted by someone else, and Sequence to easily add clips to the end of a Reel. To use these options, simply click on the 3 small horizontal dots that are visible when you watch a video on Instagram. If the options don’t appear, it’s because the Reel owner doesn’t want their content to be remixed by others.
5. Protect your posts by disabling sharing permission
If you don’t want your carousels or Reels to be shared by others via the Remix or Sequence options, as explained in the previous point, you need to disable external sharing in your Settings. Here’s how to do it:
- Go to your profile, then to your Settings,
- Click on Share and Reuse,
- Turn off sharing options.
6. Post photos and videos in high-HD quality
To prevent your photos and videos from being compressed and losing quality, there is an option to enable in your Settings :
- Go to your profile, then to your Settings,
- Select Media Content Quality,
- Enable the Import at best resolution option.
7. Add music to your Instagram bio
It’s always sunny, above the clouds… For the past few months, you’ve been able to add your favorite music to your bio. Simply go to your Instagram profile, click Edit, and select the Music field. Note: this option doesn’t appear to be available for business accounts.
8. Create and customize your avatar
You can interact with your loved ones using an avatar in private messages. This feature will be appreciated by boomers who already use it on Facebook. To create or change your avatar, simply follow these steps:
- Go to your Settings, type Avatar in the search bar,
- Click on the Avatar option to start customizing your character.
Good to know: you can also create your avatar through your profile, by clicking on the Edit button below your bio.
9. Prevent the “Seen” from appearing when you read a message
Don’t want others to know you’ve read their message? You can prevent the famous “Seen” from appearing. Go to your Profile Settings, under Messages and story replies, then click Show read receipts, and turn it off.
10. Add app usage limits
Scrolling too much? Getting too many notifications? Go to your Settings and select Time Management. You can set a daily usage limit and enable sleep mode to remind you to close Instagram and mute your notifications. Logout guaranteed (well, maybe, it all depends on you…).
