Just last week, Indigo Online covered proposals to shake up the way ‘likes’ and ‘nudge notifications’ work, with the aim of reducing the pressure users face when browsing social media sites.
Now – less than one week after the plans were announced – a test feature to hide the number of likes a post has on Instagram has been discovered.
The commercially sensitive nature of publicly announcing features, means many upcoming changes are launched as a complete surprise to users.
A response from Instagram states that although the feature is present in test versions, it is not currently being evaluated – so it is possible this feature was developed before the ICO’s White Paper was published – but it does highlight how quickly things that could have a big impact on how a social media platform works can go from the deepest of secrets, to being in the public spotlight.
If your organisation relies on social media, keeping a forward eye on what is coming up can be just as important as running a good content strategy: feature changes on social media can be anything from how an icon looks, to major changes about how the site works – and everything in-between. Staying on top of changes means you’ll always be on the right side of the rules and the best place to take advantage of new features.
Erith McKean
Social Media Executive
