Written by Denicia Lew, Wei Rong Loh and Marie Ng.

Top Instagram updates you need to know this month:

Now you can shop right on IGTV, and soon on Reels.

Source

Over the past few years, Instagram has transformed itself from just a photo-sharing platform into one with an integrated online shopping experience. It has features such as shopping tags on posts and Stories; Instagram Checkout, which allows users to purchase items without exiting the app;and Shops, a full screen storefront available to business accounts.

Now, Instagram is expanding its Shopping features to IGTV. The feature allows users to watch a video and buy the products featured within it. To drive shopping activity on IGTV, Instagram has plans to make IGTV Videos discoverable on Instagram Shops as well. This offers creators a way to more directly monetize their user base, while also giving brands more means to sell products to their followers. On Instagram’s part, this serves as a new revenue stream for them to collect selling fees on purchases. 

Instagram will also be testing out shopping features on Instagram Reels in the near future.

Instagram Reels audio is now more like TikTok.

Source

Instagram has been releasing regular updates for Reels, a short-form video sharing feature even though it was launched only recently. Instagram has made more improvements to its audio features with the following updates:

  1. An audio browser that highlights trending songs in the app, as well as personalized recommendations 
  2. Saving audio for later use 
  3. Sharing audio pages in direct messages.

Through these updates, Reels creators are able to identify trending songs and save for future use. The user can always refer back to the audio page to access their sounds, and shareable audio pages can help with helping other users to be inspired with their own creations.

Feeling nostalgic? There’s a trick to switch out the app icon for their retro icon.

In line with Instagram’s 10th anniversary celebrations, users can now change their Instagram home screen app icons to any of its previous variations for the month of October. This includes themed variations on the current logo, as well as the classic Polaroid-style logo featured at its initial launch.

Source

In order to change the icon, you would have to scroll down within the settings of the app, following a line of emoji. There will be a message from Instagram, and users will then be able to pick their favourite icon. Psst, along with this hidden surprise comes another feature update: you will now be able to see a private map of your stories from the past three years. 

A decade of Instagram with its developments over the years is indeed worth a celebration, and this Easter Egg is a worthy way of marking it!

Disclaimer: Featured image taken from Whatagraph.com.