For a small group of users, Instagram is testing more relevant content in “Top” and “Reels” tabs. By doing this, the company is removing the “Recent” tab from the hashtags page. Instagram says this feature aims to “make hashtags as valuable as possible for people.”
Currently, when selecting a hashtag, Instagram transports you to the “Hashtags” page to view content within that tag. You can browse across top content, recent content, and Instagram Reels. Users undergoing testing now only see top content and Reels.
Instagram has long been trying to make its Reels more like short-form video giant TikTok. The platform has been making a series of recent changes, with another announced earlier today by parent company Meta.
For a small group, we’re testing more recent and timely content in ‘Top’ and ‘Reels’ tabs in hashtags, and removing the ‘Recent’ tab. We want to see if this helps people connect with more interesting and relevant content on hashtags, while also keeping them across what’s current. pic.twitter.com/nLb6BiFRws
— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) April 19, 2022
Recently Instagram has also been testing a feature where you can discover social causes by searching hashtags. Additionally, the hashtag page has a “Spread the Word” button to let users share the page with others in their direct messages. The company has been placing a lot of emphasis on hashtags recently, and we will probably see more soon.
More on Instagram:
- Instagram now lets you share song clips with friends using Apple Music
- Instagram for iOS now offers two chronological feed options, here’s how they work
