Instagram is reportedly testing a new discovery feature that aims to help users connect with their friends over shared interests. The new feature, called ‘Discover Content Together’, would allow users to view a collaborative feed of content from accounts that they and their friends follow in common. This would enable them to connect over mutual interests and spark new interactive opportunities.
As per the screenshot shared by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi, the feature would add a new feed of content that users have both interacted with or from profiles that they both follow. By highlighting the topics that they and their friends both like, the feature could reveal interests in common that users were not even aware of. They would then be able to share future posts from those profiles and interests, which could generate even more engagement opportunities in the app.
Instagram has been exploring new ways to promote private interactions as a means of boosting overall usage. With people sharing fewer updates to the main feed, Instagram is now trying to establish a more unique value proposition compared to other social media platforms, such as TikTok, by highlighting how users can interact with their friends on Instagram better than on other apps.
Last week, Instagram also added Collaborative Collections, which allows users to save posts to a private chat group, as well as messaging ‘Channels’ earlier in the month, a chat-based broadcast process that provides another way to share messages.
While the potential brand use for the new ‘Discover Content Together’ feature seems limited, there could be a way to showcase common interests with followers depending on how the feature functions. Instagram has not yet announced when or whether this feature will be available for live testing.
