Facebook at F8 announces an Instagram experience less focused on likes
Instagram is getting an overhaul.
- She received the Renau Writing Scholarship in 2016 from the University of Louisville's communication department.
Instagram's camera will soon be a bit different.
Facebook 's Instagram is getting an overhaul designed to put people first.
Adam Mosseri, Instagram's vice president of content, said the social media site is testing ways to make the experience "less pressurized." The image-sharing social network will feature follower counts less prominently and make private the counts of the likes posts get. The changes are meant to help people focus on connecting with others and to downplay the competition for likes and followers.
The new approach was unveiled Tuesday at Facebook's F8 developer conference. Earlier in the day, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Instagram would get an improved camera experience for its Stories feature.
Create Mode will let you start a Story without first uploading a photo or video. The new feature lets you start a Story with stickers, quizzes, countdowns or text.
Create Mode lets you make a Story without photos and video.
Instagram will also launch Donation stickers so you can start fundraisers on the app. Shortly after F8 wrapped, Instagram posted a Story showing how the new stickers would work.
Instagram showed how Donation Stickers would work in a Story on Tuesday.
The image-sharing app will also get enhanced shopping functions. Zuckerberg said the app would be "marrying" public browsing and private transactions for a better experience. Among the changes are a new shopping channel that's live in Explore, and Check Out, which is rolling out soon. Check Out lets you purchase items from brands like Adidas, Revolve, MAC Cosmetics and others without leaving the app.
There are also new ways to do the shopping thing directly with your favorite creators. Mosseri said the Shopping From Creators feature was good for people and businesses alike.
Instagram began experimenting with in-app shopping in 2016 and testing Check Out in March.
Originally published April 30, 10:42 a.m. PT.
Updates, April 30, 10:54 and 11:25 a.m.: Adds more details.
Update May 1: Adds images of new Instagram features.