Instagram news, updates, trends, and tricks (updated weekly)

May 2026 news and updates

• Instagram eyes long-form content on CTV. Tessa Lyons, Instagram’s vice president of product, said Instagram is looking beyond short-form content, inspired by TikTok, and moving towards a more YouTube-like approach to help drive creator engagement and opportunity. (Social Media Today)
• Instagram tests multiple captions for carousels (Source: @socialpluswithabi)
• Instagram expands “original content” guidelines, affecting aggregator and curator pages. (Source: @creators, @mosseri)
• Instagram tests option to swap out text in someone else’s Reels (Social Media Today)
• Instagram improves Insights UI, adds new metrics including share and skip rate percentage data, providing more upfront overviews of content performance. (Social Media Today)

May 2026 tips and tricks

• New May trends (Examples: @yoursocialteam)
• Tip: What impacts your views? Skip rate, share rate, like rate, save rate, and repost rate (Source: @miloupiertersz)
• Trend: “Hold the dots and scroll” interactive carousel (Example: @mun15h)

April 2026 news and updates

• Instagram April 2026 updates: scheduling Trial Reels, carousel reordering (Source: @amberfiglow)
• Instagram expands Your Algorithm tool to Explore (Social Media Today)
• Instagram adds comment editing. The long-awaited feature will allow users to revise comments within 15 minutes of posting, but image elements will not be editable. (Source: Social Media Today)
• Instagram chief debunks popular engagement hack of reporting posts to Stories. “Adam Mosseri said that reposting posts to Stories won’t increase reach, but hinted that the app may be considering a way to schedule Stories.” (Source: Social Media Today)
• Instagram looks to grow Notes engagement (Source: Social Media Today)
• Creators can now use affiliate links to make commission in Reels (Source: @mosseri and @creators)
• Instagram confirms live test of its new subscription package (Source: Social Media Today)
• Instagram allows creators to schedule Trial Reels (Source: Social Media Today) 

April 2026 tips and tricks

• Tip: In 2026, Instagram cares about 3 things: watch time, likes per reach, sends per reach (Source: @prettylittlemarketer)
• Tip: Why you should be posting carousels (Source: @dupephotos) 
• Tip: “What I learned from analyzing yap videos” (Source: @bonusfootage)
• Trend: Sunglasses reflection reveal (Example: @daphne) 
• Tip: Obscure Instagram Stories etiquette (Source: @xanthe.appleyard) 
• Trend: Screenshot to find the read the message meant for you (Example: @morganharpernichols)
• Trend: Put you finger on [insert emoji] to reveal a number and read the caption for your hidden message (Example: @paris.unpacked)
• Tip: Negative hook structure for Reels (Source: @ameliagonzamonte) 

March 2026 news and updates

• Instagram allows users to rearrange carousel posts (Source: Social Media Today)
• Meta’s next subscription package could boost Instagram performance, with new features like spotlight and rewatch that will allow paying users to get more out of their Instagram Stories (Source: Social Media Today)
• Instagram to sell Reels ads for viral tv and movies content, ‘cultural moments’ like NFL Games and Black Friday. Meta will also introduce a new reserve-buying option designed to help advertisers “win share of audience” during a short window of up to 24 hours as engagement surges across apps (Source: Variety)
• Instagram: Meta updates Edits features. New fonts, AI powered font re-style, new fine tune video edits, and search tool updates. (Source: Social Media Today, @creators) 
• Instagram adds ability to pause Reels with a single tap (Source: Social Media Today)
• Instagram adds AI transition option for still image-based Stories (Source: Let’s Data Science)
• Instagram's March 2026 updates bring significant updates to enhance user engagement and growth opportunities. (Source: Vicky Owens)
• Instagram’s competitive insights tool will be one of the most underrated tools in your professional dashboard. This appears to be rolling out and is not available yet to all accounts. (Source: @katelynrhodes)
• Instagram, LinkedIn and Threads engagement declined in 2025 (Source: Social Media Today)
• Updates from Instagram’s CEO (Source: @thekatelynrhodes)
• Instagram opens up content scheduling to all users (Source: Social Media Today)
• Instagram introduces thumbnail post editing for grids (Source: Social Media Today)
• New Interactive Reels with clickable links profiles and to other Reels (Source: @anja.oerlemans)
• Carousels are the new Reels, getting more engagement and building trust (Source: @creatorcollege_) 

March 2026 tips and tricks

• Tip: 48 Instagram creators to follow in 2026 (Source: @leadgenman) 
• Reels with human speech or featuring a person within the first three seconds show higher viewer retention and engagement. (Source: Emplifi)
• Common video framing mistake (Source: @ahrensteis) 
• Trend, “Zoom in for ___” (Example: @pachaoffical) 
• March 2026 Instagram content trends (Source: @yourtemplateclub) 
• Know the visual tone needed for the audience you’re trying to reach (Source)
• “You can tap any Reel you want now.” (Example: @the.artzy.lens, Tutorial: @bhavayaobserves)
• Good hook vs. bad hook (Source: @kienobifilms)
• Multiple choice, “Who wants to be a millionaire” sound trend (Example: @nativenationeu)
• Simple Plan’s “I’m Just a Kid” song trend with childhood photos (Source: @firsta    nvenue)

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February 2026 news and updates

• Instagram’s “Close Friends Only” Podcast features Charli xcx and Kylie Jenner (Instagram Blog)
• “Swipe-fishing”: How creators are dodging platform suppression to lure disengaged followers into political topics (Source: Mashable)
• Instagram is experimenting with mini drama video format (Source: Social Media Today)
• Instagram tests displaying ‘Friends’ instead of ‘Following’ (Source: Social Media Today)
• Edits adds new features, including reverse video and teleprompter (Source: @creators)
• Instagram has introduced a major update allowing users to add clickable, internal links directly inside Reels to connect to other Reels or profiles, aiming to reduce friction for creators. This feature, accessible via the Instagram Edits app, enables creators to add interactive, tappable stickers to promote series, link related content, or direct viewers to their profile. (Source: Creator)
• Instagram just launched a feature like BeReal and it’s catching loads of people out (Source: The Tab)

February 2026 tips and tricks

• How to optimize your Instagram profile for search (Source: @luxurysocialco)
• Best-practice video elements (Source: @realskytan)
• How to structure content mix: value, lifestyle, authentic, viral (Source: @sebostone)
• Edit your [day, work, vacation, etc.] like a reality TV show (Source: @fjollanilaofficial)
• “So what’s your type?” “This…” [insert images of your favorite things] (Source: @itsjustimmy)
• Instagram Stories stickers: tips and tricks (Source: Instagram Blog)
• Link your reels to help with content distribution (Source: @Creators)
• Reset your algorithm weekly 
  
  • Linking reels 
  • Updating algorithm settings
• Three features that you should check out on Edits: clickable links, new effects, and a storyboard tool to help organize your ideas. (Source: @mosseri) 
• Content every brand should try in 2026: founders as creators, sensory marketing, screenshots as creatives, and more. (Source: @sailaway.media
• People posting photos from 2016, take it a step further by posting on Thursdays with #TBT (Example: @denny623) 
• AI translations look and sound like you speak up to 9 different languages (Source: @mosseri)

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