Instagram’s Changes to Notes: What You Need to Know

Instagram is making several updates to its Notes feature. According to its parent company, Meta, new functionalities will be introduced to enhance user interaction and engagement. The most notable changes include the introduction of Prompts, which allows users to ask questions or include statements that their followers can directly respond to. Not only that, but users can now also tag friends in their Notes, which will then notify the tagged individuals, and others can “like” Notes by tapping the heart button.

Meta released a statement, which read, “The new feature comes as people continue to prioritize more private interactions with their mutuals and close friends, on IG, with early testing of the feature showing that people are enjoying the ability to leave quick thoughts and commentary on Notes for friends and mutuals to see, especially on comedic content.”

The tech update aims to make Notes more interactive for users, allowing for text-based or emoji responses to prompts. Moreover, it can enable “likes” and mentions for enhanced engagement, as Instagram hopes to encourage more conversations and connections among users​.

The Notes feature works by clicking on the share icon, then tapping on the “Note” icon. Next, users will select who they want to see the Note: “close friends” or “followers you follow back.”

Notes on feed posts and on Reels will be visible for up to three days. However, if a user wants to delete a Note, they can at any time.

Apart from the changes to Notes, Instagram is also implementing updates to Stories, including a polaroid effect that allows followers to shake the picture to reveal the image and a cutouts feature that can turn photos into custom-created stickers for Stories.

Additionally, Instagram Stories will now include the feature to post a hidden Story, and a person’s followers will need to DM them in order to reveal the Story.

The Instagram updates come amid Meta’s progress toward improving its other famous apps. The parent company also owns Meta and WhatsApp.