Instagram Bolsters Explore Feature to Help Users Discover New Content
Instagram this week announced two new ways to discover new content on its app.
The features—location stories and hashtag stories—bolster Instagram’s “Explore” tab, which is the app’s primary engine for content discovery.
“Now you can see what’s happening around you and find stories related to your interests,” the company says.
Users can now search for any location around the world and see a story ring for that place at the top of the location page. And the same can be done for hashtags. The features function virtually identical to regular Instagram posts, except all content will be in the app’s story format.
Users can opt whether or not to include their stories in these larger ones or have their stories only viewable by their followers.
According to Instagram, location stories on Explore are available on iOS and Android as part of Instagram version 10.22 in the Apple App Store and Google Play. Hashtag stories “will be rolling out over the coming weeks.”
