Instagram is on top of the social media game and is recognized by most as the biggest social media platform in 2018. But there is one big question that is starting to arise with Instagram; what is the next big feature coming to the platform to make sure that it stays on top of the game? With features like the Shopify post feature and the Spotify song share through Instagram Stories have helped make Instagram more interesting, it hasn’t been the features to change Instagram. Here are some of the bigger features Instagram may have planned down the road that could improve the user experience.

Instagram Story “Music Stickers”

Recently, some users searched through the Instagram Android app and discovered a very interesting set of codes titled “music stickers.” This could be a game changer for Instagram stories, as it gives many the opportunity to take their Instagram stories to a much higher level quality. Facebook recently accumulated many licensing deals with different record labels, meaning that we could be seeing thousands of songs to choose from to listen to one Instagram stories.

This would also give an opportunity to many music influencers on the platform by being able to quickly and easily share their music directly to their stories. This is a feature many will be looking forward to and using a lot.

Solution To “No Chronological Feed” Issue With “You’re All Caught Up” Feature

One issue that many have voiced a negative opinion about is the replacement of a chronological timeline with a custom timeline that suggests what Instagram thinks you will like first. The main issue with this decision is that many people used a chronological timeline to help them with knowing what pictures they had yet to view.

Now with a new “You’re all caught up” feature, Instagram will solve this problem by telling users when they have seen all the images posted by the accounts they are following. With this, people will be able to make sure they are viewing all images that have been posted within a certain period of time. Many are already seeing this feature in their timeline, as seen above.

Custom Discovery Page Tool

The discovery page is one of the biggest mysteries of Instagram in the way it works. There are many components that go into the Instagram Discovery Page that are variables in an algorithm to suggest to you what they believe you would like the most. These elements include who you are following, what they are liking. who they are following, what you are liking, what you are viewing, and what account genres do you take interest in.

For instance, a few weeks ago I liked some cute pictures of dogs and now almost every single time on the discovery page I get suggested pictures of dogs and accounts dedicated to K9 photography and puppy memes. It’s just one way Instagram has been following my activity on the app and in all honesty, its kind of annoying. While it is great when the discovery tab is suggesting to me what I want to see, but I hate when it suggests things like the dog accounts that I am not interested in.

This could all change with one simple filter feature for the discovery tab. This features would give users that ability to toggle how they want the discovery page to be. They could choose to only see content from accounts they follow or see accounts they are following and who they follow. You could also be given the option of manually entering hashtags, choosing specific account categories to see, or just using the plain and simple algorithm option that Instagram offers now.

While it’s unsure if all these features will be here soon, there is only hope that fans can be delighted with an update containing one of these features to create more excitement around Instagram and longer average usage time on the apps by users. All we can do is hope for a brighter future for Instagram features.