It looks like Instagram has another new feature on the way though it probably isn’t something most of us would get excited about.
In an effort to bring its photography and video social media platform more in line with the mothership that is known as Facebook, Instagram will add a “memorialized” account feature for users that have passed away.
As we told you last year, Facebook is keen on bringing its varied properties into the fold in a more coordinated fashion and branding and features were among the core things that the company wanted to harmonize. Alongside the introduction of cross-messaging between apps, Facebook and Instagram (as well as WhatsApp) have converged more in recent years as each builds off of the strengths of the other.
Currently, users have to petition Instagram to make an account “memorialized” but this would make it an option on all accounts.
Instagram’s Liza Crenshaw told Buzzfeed that, “We’ve been working on these updates for some time, though this is one — among others — that we’ve accelerated in light of COVID-19 to help support our community during a difficult time.”
The novel coronavirus pandemic that started last December in the Chinese city of Wuhan has become a regular fixture in our blog posts of late and that is because its impact on the world of photography and the wider world is unlike anything we’ve seen before. It’s good to know that companies like Instagram are taking things like this into account and we’re sure this is one change that they will launch which will garner little controversy.
What do you think of Instagram’s proposed feature? Long overdue or somewhat morbid? Let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments section below if you like.
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