If you follow more than a few hundred active Instagram accounts, your feed tends to become more than a little clogged up with posts (especially when you factor in advertisements).
And it looks like Instagram might have a solution for that albeit one current situated in internal testing mode. A so-called “Favorites” list basically tells Instagram what content you want to see in your feed before other stuff.
It makes a lot of sense and we’re kind of surprised it hasn’t come out yet.
The Verge reports that Twitter user Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) was the first to spot the test which was later confirmed in a response from Instagram to the website article.
In that response, Instagram told The Verge that “Favorites” was “an internal prototype that’s still in development, and not testing externally.”
Maybe with this little bit of attention “Favorites” can get the fuel the feature needs to make it to external testing. Of course, if that happens, we’ll let you know.
Other features that Instagram has implemented that go a long way towards making content more discoverable and the platform more palatable are the topic-based search option and the extensive community interaction controls Instagram introduced.
Back to “Favorites,” this feature is somewhat different than the other two in that it gives users more of a degree of direct control over feed content. A popular topic that Instagram has directly addressed time and time again is how they determine what posts you view on the platform but, even with the best of intentions, discussions of the company’s algorithm seem to avoid expanding options for tailoring Instagram’s content to a user’s preferences.
It is understandable that it doesn’t want people becoming siloed from one another, but, again, it is really difficult to find relevant content in your feed when you go choose to follow many accounts.
Do you think creating lists like “Favorites” will make Instagram a friendlier place for users to find – and follow – the content relevant to them? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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