‎Instagram App

The hashtag #letthembelittle contains over 10 million images related to children on Instagram. The study reported evidence of online posts affecting offline behavior, but stopped short of claiming causality. Tiggermann et al. showed facial satisfaction can decrease when one spends greater time editing selfies. Multiple studies have found that increasing time spent on Instagram increases anxiety.

The photo post had received three likes and countless comments, and in September 2017, the company's algorithms turned the photo into an advertisement visible to Solon's sister. There was no option for users to opt out of the changed Terms of Service without deleting their accounts before the new policy went into effect on January 16, 2013. An April 2022 study by the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that Instagram failed to act on 90% of abusive direct messages (DMs) sent to five high-profile women, despite the DMs being reported to moderators. At the same time, it updated its automated comment filter to support additional languages.

• Users can set their account as "private", thereby requiring that they approve any new follower requests.
• The company will put suggested posts ahead of posts from people who the user is following in the Instagram feed, citing positive reception as the reason for this change.
• In January 2011, Instagram introduced hashtags to help users discover both photos and each other.
• Then, the following month, Reels officially launched in 50 countries including the United States, Canada and United Kingdom.
• In May 2017, a survey conducted by the United Kingdom's Royal Society for Public Health, featuring 1,479 people aged 14–24 and asking them to rate social media platforms depending on anxiety, depression, loneliness, bullying and body image, concluded that Instagram was the "worst for young mental health".
• On June 23, 2021, Instagram announced a test change to the "suggested posts" feature.

Since 2017, Instagram has employed the ability to reduce the prominence of accounts ("shadowbanning") it believes may be generating non-genuine engagement and spam (including excessive use of unneeded hashtags), preventing posts from appearing in search results and in the app's Explore section. Third-party services can be used for unlimited browsing of public Instagram profiles without having to create an account, as well as for anonymous browsing of someone else's Stories. It was reported that these changes were primarily intended to discourage third-party clients replicating the entire Instagram experience (due to increasing monetization of the service), and security reasons (such as preventing abuse by automated click farms, and the hijacking of accounts). It was followed by the release of Hyperlapse in August, an iOS-exclusive app that uses "clever algorithm processing" to create tracking shots and fast time-lapse videos. In July 2014, it released Bolt, a messaging app where users click on a friend's profile photo to quickly send an image, with the content disappearing after being seen.

On February 26, 2019, the New York Post released an article stating that the FTC had discovered a memo authored by a senior Facebook official, revealing that the purpose behind the acquisition of Instagram was to remove a potential rival. The policy update also introduced an arbitration clause, which remained even after the language pertaining to advertising and user content had been modified. On December 20, Instagram announced that the advertising section of the policy would be reverted to its original October 2010 version. Citing misinterpretations about its intention to "communicate that we'd like to experiment with innovative advertising that feels appropriate on Instagram", Systrom also stated that it was "our mistake that this language is confusing" and that "it is not our intention to sell your photos". The move garnered severe criticism from users, prompting Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom to write a blog post one day later, announcing that they would "remove" the offending language from the policy. In 2019, Apple pulled an app which let users stalk people on Instagram by scraping accounts and collecting data.

Photographic filters

In March 2015, Instagram announced it would implement "carousel ads", allowing advertisers to display multiple images with options for linking to additional content. Users will only be able to view these Highlights after they have gone through all current Stories in their tray, meaning that those who follow many accounts may find it challenging to see these updates. In July, Instagram started allowing users to respond to Stories content by sending photos and videos, complete with Instagram effects such as filters, stickers, and hashtags. This setting can be changed to allow unlimited messages from other accounts that the user does not follow. Then, the following month, Reels officially launched in 50 countries including the United States, Canada and United Kingdom.

In November 2012, Instagram launched website profiles, allowing anyone to see user feeds from a web browser with limited functionality, as well as a selection of badges, and web widget buttons to link to profiles. In February 2011, it was reported that Instagram had raised $7 million (equivalent to $9,601,662 in 2024) in Series A funding from a variety of investors, including Benchmark Capital, Jack Dorsey, Chris Sacca (through Capital fund), and Adam D'Angelo. On October 6, 2010, the Instagram iOS app was officially released through the App Store.

2017: Redesign and Windows app

In March 2021, a feature was added that prevents adults from messaging users under 18 who do not follow them as part of a series of new child safety policies. In May, Instagram made it possible to send website links in messages, and also added support for sending photos in their original portrait or landscape orientation without cropping. In April 2017, Instagram redesigned Direct to combine all private messages, both permanent and ephemeral, into the same message threads.

Bare 2020 analysed 300 randomly selected images under the hashtag and found they tended to contain children's personal information, including name, age and location. Sharenting is when parents post content, including images, about their children. The study showed viewing celebrity and peer pictures could make the moods of women negative.

Instagram offers a number of photographic filters that users can apply to their images. In December 2017, Instagram began to allow users to follow hashtags, which display relevant highlights of the topic in their feeds. In August, Instagram announced that it would start organizing comments into threads, letting users more easily interact with replies. The move was seen as a way to prevent users from deleting photos that don't garner a desired number of "likes" or are deemed boring, but also as a way to limit the "emergent behavior" of deleting photos, which deprives the service of content.

It supports 33 languages including English, Hindi, Spanish, French, Japanese, and Korean. Users can browse other users' content by tags and locations, view trending content, like photos, and follow other users to add their content to a personal feed. The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Instagram artificial intelligence describes content for visually impaired people who use screen readers.

Similarly, an app for Windows 10 personal computers and tablets was released in October 2016. The platform previously had a beta version of Instagram, first released on November 21, 2013, for Windows Phone 8. In April 2016, Instagram released a Windows 10 Mobile app, after years of demand from Microsoft and acolades the public to release an app for the platform.

In 2021, Instagram announced that like counts would return to be publicly viewable by default. Some have suggested it may contribute to digital dependence, whilst this same survey noticed its positive effects, including self-expression, self-identity, and community building. In May 2017, a survey conducted by the United Kingdom's Royal Society for Public Health, featuring 1,479 people aged 14–24 and asking them to rate social media platforms depending on anxiety, depression, loneliness, bullying and body image, concluded that Instagram was the "worst for young mental health". In 2015, Instagram was named No. 1 by Mashable on its list of "The 100 best iPhone apps of all time", noting Instagram as "one of the most influential social networks in the world." Instagram was listed among Time's "50 Best Android Applications for 2013" list. One exception was in January 2020, when Instagram and its parent company, Facebook, Inc., removed posts "that voice support for slain Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani to comply with US sanctions".

The ability to search "Recent" hashtags was temporarily disabled during the 2020 U.S. elections, to prevent the spread of misinformation. In January 2011, Instagram introduced hashtags to help users discover both photos and each other. On March 1, 2021, Instagram launched a new feature named Instagram Live Rooms, which lets four people go live together. In November, Instagram began to support Alt text to add descriptions of photos for the visually impaired. In September 2011, a new version of the app included new and live filters, instant tilt–shift, high-resolution photographs, optional borders, one-click rotation, and an updated icon.