Instagram is testing a new feature called “Blend” that will create a private feed for you and your friends based on your mutual interests
Users will have to invite their friends to “Blend” and either party can leave at anytime
It’s just a prototype right now – there’s no set release date.
Instagram is working on a new feature called “Blend” that will create a private feed of reels based on the user and their friends’ interests.
The feature was first spotted by developer Alessandro Paluzzi who shared a glimpse of what the feature might look like through a post on X. The screenshot had a message stating that the reels under this feed will be based on the reels you have shared with each other and the reels you personally like on your feed.
On Friday, the news was finally confirmed by Instagram which said that it’s currently just an internal prototype and there are no plans for external testing anytime soon.
If you are still confused about how Blend works, think of Spotify’s Blend feature. It takes the musical taste of your friend and you to create a combined playlist that you’ll both enjoy. That’s exactly how Instagram Blend will work.
We are not sure how the analyzing part will function. But it will probably be based on the reels you engage with and send over to your friends through DM. This means that Instagram might be reading your DMs if you opt for this feature.
On the brighter side, the videos under Blend will be private to both users and either of them can leave at any time.
It might sound like a privacy concern for now, but we’re sure there will be a workaround once the company finally makes an official announcement.
Since the company hasn’t shared many details about the tool, we can’t comment if the feed would update periodically or continuously based on the content you engage with.
If this feature is released, it would give Instagram a competitive advantage over TikTok. Right now, the two companies are the biggest competitors in the short video market. But with Blend, Instagram can provide a fun way for friends to engage with others virtually, something that TikTok doesn’t.
It will also give a boost to Reels’ reach – a huge benefit for content creators and will probably increase watch time which will again benefit both creators and the app.
When Reels was first introduced, it was dubbed as a mere replica of TikTok’s interface. However, the move was immensely successful as it led to a 24% increase in engagement rate on the platform.
Meta had also introduced certain additional features to make its ‘Reels’ better. For instance:
You can now see daily trends by clicking on ‘Check Today’s Reels Trends‘.
Creators can see which fans have given them gifts by clicking on the heart icon.
For now, it’s just a prototype, and like many prototypes the company has created in the past, it might never even be released.
Read more: Meta encourages blazoners to embrace AR Reels ads and FB stories
In Other News
Instagram is slowly rolling out a new policy under which it will no longer recommend political content to its users. Political content refers to anything related to law, social topics, and elections.
People who follow political accounts will continue to get updates – it’s just that this content won’t be actively pushed out anymore.
With reduced attention spans, social media platforms have to keep evolving to retain their user base. Instagram’s Blend aims to do just that. It remains to be seen if the feature does make it to the app or dies away as a prototype.
