New Instagram Features: Group Profiles, Candid Stories, and Notes

As a business owner, it's important to stay up-to-date on the latest and emerging social media features in order to connect with both current and future customers. That said, look no further! Here's a rundown of the latest and emerging Instagram features in 2023 you need to know about:

  • Group Profiles: A feature that allows users to create and join profiles to share posts and stories with a specific group of friends. This new feature seems akin to Facebook Groups.

  • Candid Stories: A feature that allows users to capture and share what they’re up-to in real-time. This looks like an attempt from Instagram to compete with BeReal. It’ll function much like TikTok’s NOW feed, whereby Candid Stories will only be visible to “friends”—which is an unclear term—who’ve also posted a Candid Story that day. Facebook intends on testing the same functionality.

  • Notes: A short messaging feature that allows users to share thoughts and updates with friends in the platform’s Inbox section. Like Stories, Notes last for 24 hours. Additionally, they can only be seen by followers whom you also follow or your designated Close Friends and are limited to 60 characters. Note replies present as DMs.

Now that you're up-to-date on the latest Instagram features, it's time to start thinking about how you can utilize them to benefit your marketing efforts.