Instagram announces two new features you were waiting for

Instagram has announced that its app will undergo timeline changes based on the user feedback. The photo-sharing service will have a 'New Posts' button that lets the user manually refresh the feed. This will prevent the automatic refresh of the feed that results in missing out on many updates. Users will now be able to manually refresh the feed without the app doing it for them.

Another change is the one users have been waiting for a long time - a chronological timeline. The previous timeline algorithm sorted the feed according to what the app thinks the user would like to see instead of the more logical reverse chronological timeline as before. After, much criticism, Instagram will now show posts in order. Although it still won't be in a chronological order, it would still be better than the current timeline.

There also have been talks about the inability to share posts on Instagram such as retweet in Twitter and share on Facebook. A TechCrunch report has also tipped that the company is testing a similar function within its Stories feature. According to the report, users of Instagram can select a post on their feed and tap on a button in order to embed it as a part of their Stories. The quoted Stories can be customized with test, stickers, etc. before it is taken live. This is said to be called quote-Story. The report adds that those who check the story out and encounter the quote-Story can actually tap through to see the full view.

According to a report by TechCrunch, an APK of Instagram and Instagram Direct apps show files and icons for calls and video calls. APK (Android Application Packages) usually show files for unreleased features waiting to be launched. This makes us believe that Instagram is in plans to introduce voice and video calling features in its Direct standalone app.

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If Instagram rolls out the voice and video calling support, then it would make the platform a better alternative to Snapchat. Notably, Snapchat introduced video calling in 2014 and came up with audio and video notes in 2016 to enhance this feature. Instagram has been mimicking Snapchat in terms of Stories and privacy controls so long.