2022 Instagram App Updates (Changes, New Features Etc)

Instagram (IG) has undergone quite an evolution over the past few years as it seeks to fight off competition from other photo and short video sharing services such as TikTok.

Editing Reels

One of Instagram’s biggest changes in the last year was the introduction of Instagram Reels. A new update to Reels in 2022 is enabling users to introduce an editing tool. Users can now trim and re-arrange video clips in a few clicks. You can quickly record, trim, and post a Reel in less than a minute.

Instagram Hashtags

Instagram has launched dedicated hashtag pages to allow users to get behind certain causes and show support. They picked 25 hashtags to begin with, including #blacklivesmatter. Users can create fundraisers for these causes and seek support from people in their IG network.

Instagram DM Options

In messaging, Instagram has introduced an ‘Active Now’ section where users can see people who are online now. It’s meant to prompt people to use IG as an instant messaging tool. There is also a silent feature on DMs. This allows users to send a message without having a push notification sent to the recipient. This feature is useful late at night when users want to send a message without disturbing the recipient. There is also a new music sharing feature on Instagram where you can send a 30-second clip of a song to friends via DM.

Enhanced Tags

Instagram has also recently introduced enhanced tags where you can tag all collaborators on a creative piece of work. For instance, an influencer can tag their make-up artist, photographer, designers, and other behind-the-scenes personnel who put in work on a project. They’ve done this in a bid to help creatives find more opportunities by receiving credit from previous work.

Subscriptions

Another notable addition to Instagram in 2022 is subscriptions. They are testing three models or opportunities for monetization through subscriptions. For instance, a person can go live just for their subscribers. Another option is to have subscribers marked with a subscriber badge. This makes it easier to spot their DMs and comments. Another subscription option is for Instagram stories.