Instagram is testing a new feature that lets you post a text note to your followers and appears to be getting a wider rollout. The component was being tested with a limited selection of users.
The fact is that XDA has the feature operating on multiple devices suggests its availability is growing. Notes can be 60 characters in size.
When available, the feature is depicted in the app’s messages section, below the search bar. “Share what’s on your intellect…” the prompt in the text box shows. “People won’t be informed when you leave a note. They can catch your note 24 hours and reply with a message.”
The disappearing nature of these notes makes them appear a lot like text-based versions of Instagram Stories, which typically spin around photos and videos rather than text.
But they also fetch to mind MSN Messenger‘s classic status feature, which lets you set a small string of text by your screen representation for all your contacts on the popular* 00s chat app to see.
Notes join a long list of changes that Instagram has been testing recently, including ditching the shopping tab from the home feed and a new safety feature to detect unsolicited nude photos.
As with all these features, it’ll be interesting to see how Instagram’s user base uses the notes functionality in practice. Will people employ it for practical purposes, or are we glancing at the next canvas for some suitable old-fashioned flirting/shit posting?
A spokesperson from Instagram did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the apparent expansion of the notes feature test, so it’s unclear when it could get a widespread launch. It was so you could share practical details like whether you were busy or up for chatting, but in practice, you can only ever see it used to share song lyrics and coded messages about who you had a fascination with at the time.
“We’re always working on ways to help you better connect on Instagram. For example, we’re now testing Notes so people can quickly share thoughts with their friends, with a small group of people to start,” a spokesperson for the company previously told.