Changes
415 times Instagram's guidance changed, newest first. Each shows what was said before, and what replaced it.
2019
Account removalJul 2019
Instagram added an account-removal trigger based on the number of violations within a time window, alongside its existing percentage-based trigger, and introduced account-risk notifications.
Before
Instagram Community Terms of Use FAQs“We might remove your content or restrict or delete your account if, for example, you violate our Terms or Community Guidelines. Our Terms set out the service we provide to you, and what we require of our community members.”
After
Account Disable Policy Changes on Instagram“Today, we are announcing a change to our account disable policy. Together with Facebook, we develop policies to ensure Instagram is a supportive place for everyone. These changes will help us quickly detect and remove accounts that repeatedly violate our policies.”
IGTVMay 2019
Creators could now publish IGTV previews in the Instagram feed, adding another way to discover IGTV videos.
Before
Welcome to IGTV, our New Video App“Update: We launched IGTV at an event in San Francisco featuring many of the Instagram creators who’ll make IGTV great. Check out the video of the event to learn what IGTV is, how it works and see it come to life.”
After
IGTV Now Supports Landscape Videos“From Baby Ariel’s Love Triangle series to The Rock’s Mana and Gratitude series to Jameela Jamil’s I Weigh interview series with Sam Smith and Lizzo, it’s been amazing to see the vertical videos that our community has shared on IGTV.”
IGTVMay 2019
Instagram added a pinned IGTV shortcut in Explore leading to a personalized feed of recommended videos.
Before
Welcome to IGTV, our New Video App“Update: We launched IGTV at an event in San Francisco featuring many of the Instagram creators who’ll make IGTV great. Check out the video of the event to learn what IGTV is, how it works and see it come to life.”
After
Making Explore an Even Better Home for Your Interests“People turn to Explore when they want to branch out from the accounts they already follow on Instagram. Today we’re announcing new designs in Explore, bringing you more ways to discover photos, videos, products and Stories relevant to your interests.”
VideoMay 2019
Explore’s video discovery design expanded from video channels to a pinned IGTV shortcut leading to a personalized feed of recommended videos.
Before
Introducing Video Channels in Instagram Explore“Today, we’ve started rolling out a new look for Explore featuring video channels. As people share more videos than ever before, we’re making it easier to discover the ones you’ll love. To begin, you’ll find a personalized channel called “Videos You Might Like” that collects videos from across Instagram’s global community into a seamless viewing experience.”
After
Making Explore an Even Better Home for Your Interests“People turn to Explore when they want to branch out from the accounts they already follow on Instagram. Today we’re announcing new designs in Explore, bringing you more ways to discover photos, videos, products and Stories relevant to your interests.”
Content reportingFeb 2019
The instructions for reporting a comment changed from swiping right or tapping it to swiping left.
Before
Introducing Instagram Explore, Photo Maps & More“Instagram v3. 0 contains many speed and loading optimizations on newer devices. - To ensure Instagram is a safe and fun place to share your photos, we’ve introduced a way to report comments. Now, just swipe right or tap on a comment and tap the trashcan icon.”
After
Instagram Features that Support #SaferInternetDay“If you see something that shouldn’t be on Instagram, you can report it to us. Our team works 24/7 to quickly review and remove content that goes against our Community Guidelines. To report something, tap “…” on the top right corner of the post or profile, or swipe left on the comment.”
Comment controlsFeb 2019
The manual comment filter now supports custom emojis as well as words.
Before
Keeping Instagram Comments Safe“themselves without criticism or harassment. It’s not only my personal wish to do this, I believe it’s also our responsibility as a company. So, today, we’re taking the next step to ensure Instagram remains a positive place to express yourself.”
After
Instagram Features that Support #SaferInternetDay“Bullying and harassment are not allowed on Instagram, and we have tools to help protect you from negative experiences. You can block accounts that you don’t want to interact with, which means they won’t be able to see your profile or comment on your posts.”
2018
SavesNov 2018
Instagram added the ability to save tagged products from Stories or Feed into a Shopping collection.
Before
Introducing New Ways to Organize Your Saved Posts“Starting this week, you can save posts into private collections. Tap and hold the bookmark icon underneath any post to save it directly to a collection. You can create and name a new collection when you save a post, or you can add it to one you’ve already created.”
After
Introducing New Shopping Features on Instagram“Now when you come across a must-have item, save it to your Shopping collection to revisit it later. When you tap a product tag in Stories or Feed, tap the Save icon in the bottom right corner to save it to your Shopping collection.”
Comment controlsOct 2018
The bullying comment filter was extended to comments on live videos worldwide.
Before
Bully Filter and Kindness Prom to Protect Instagram Community“Starting today, Instagram will filter bullying comments intended to harass or upset people in the Instagram community. To be clear: we don’t tolerate bullying on Instagram. Our Community Guidelines have always prohibited bullying on our platform, and I’m proud to announce this next step in our ongoing commitment to keeping Instagram an inclusive, supportive place for all voices.”
After
New Anti Bullying Tools on Instagram“A few months ago, we introduced a bullying comment filter to proactively detect and hide bullying comments from Feed, Explore and Profile. We’re now adding this filter to comments on live videos to ensure that Live remains a safe and fun place to authentically connect with your friends and interests.”
Community GuidelinesMay 2018
Instagram added automatic filtering of bullying comments and expanded its anti-bullying policies to protect young public figures.
Before
Instagram Community Terms of Use FAQs“Everyone on the Service is prohibited from doing the following: - Being deceptive, or doing anything unlawful, misleading or fraudulent, or violating someone else’s rights (including using their content without permission). - Violating our Community Guidelines, which prohibit things like spam, harassment and nudity.”
After
Bully Filter and Kindness Prom to Protect Instagram Community“Starting today, Instagram will filter bullying comments intended to harass or upset people in the Instagram community. To be clear: we don’t tolerate bullying on Instagram. Our Community Guidelines have always prohibited bullying on our platform, and I’m proud to announce this next step in our ongoing commitment to keeping Instagram an inclusive, supportive place for all voices.”
Comment controlsMay 2018
Instagram expanded automatic offensive-comment filtering to hide bullying attacks on appearance or character and threats to well-being or health.
Before
Strengthening Our Commitment to Safety and Kindness for 800 Million“Over time, we’ve launched a number of tools to help you manage the comments experience, and today we’re introducing more. Starting today, if your account is public, you’ll see a new way to choose who can comment on your posts – from everyone to just groups of people, like people you follow or your followers.”
After
Bully Filter and Kindness Prom to Protect Instagram Community“Starting today, Instagram will filter bullying comments intended to harass or upset people in the Instagram community. To be clear: we don’t tolerate bullying on Instagram. Our Community Guidelines have always prohibited bullying on our platform, and I’m proud to announce this next step in our ongoing commitment to keeping Instagram an inclusive, supportive place for all voices.”
RecencyMar 2018
Instagram increased the priority of newer posts in Feed, refining the earlier ranking that balanced timeliness with predicted interest and relationships.
Before
See Posts you Care About First in your Feed“You may be surprised to learn that people miss on average 70 percent of their feeds. As Instagram has grown, it’s become harder to keep up with all the photos and videos people share. This means you often don’t see the posts you might care about the most.”
After
New Posts Button to Improve your Instagram Feed“Today we’re introducing changes to give you more control over your feed and ensure the posts you see are timely. We’ve heard it can feel unexpected when your feed refreshes and automatically bumps you to the top.”
HashtagsMar 2018
Clickable hashtags leading to hashtag pages expanded from stories to profile bios.
Before
Introducing Face Filters & More on Instagram“and watch it fly up into your hand. Capture a fountain in motion and share a rewind of the water floating back up. Experiment with some magic tricks of your own and defy the laws of physics wherever you are.”
After
Introducing Hashtag and Profile Links in Bio“Today, we’re introducing hashtag and profile links in bio, a new way to express yourself and the things you care about. Now when you include a # or @ in your bio, they become live links that lead to a hashtag page or another profile.”
2017
SendsDec 2017
Direct sharing expanded to live videos, which recipients could watch only while the broadcast was still live.
Before
New: Share Instagram Stories in Direct“Starting today, you can share stories with your friends in Direct. From stories you follow on surfing to stories about your best friend’s cat, now you have more ways to share the stories you love. Sharing a story in Direct is as easy as sharing a post from your feed.”
After
New: Send a Live Video in Direct Messaging“You can now send live videos to friends in Direct. With a single tap of the Direct icon, you can send your own live video – or a live video you’re watching – to a friend or a group of friends to encourage them to join in the fun.”
HashtagsDec 2017
People could now follow hashtags to receive posts in their feed and stories in their stories bar, rather than visiting hashtag pages to discover them.
Before
Introducing Location and Hashtag Story Exploration“Today we’re excited to announce two new ways to discover the world around you on Explore: location stories and hashtag stories. Now you can see what’s happening around you and find stories related to your interests.”
After
Now You Can Follow Hashtags on Instagram“Today we’re introducing the ability to follow hashtags, giving you new ways to discover photos, videos and people on Instagram. Now it’s even easier to stay connected with the interests, hobbies, passions and communities you care about.”
Saved postsNov 2017
Saving and revisiting posts expands from the Instagram apps to mobile web, where saved posts are accessed through a bookmark icon.
Before
Introducing Saved Instagram Posts“Starting today, you can save posts you’d like to revisit later. Now you’ll see a new bookmark icon underneath posts in your feed. Simply tap it to save a post to a new, private tab on your profile.”
After
New: Instagram Stories & Save on Mobile Web“Starting today, you can experience instagram. com in two new ways: by creating stories and saving posts you like. You’ll see the camera icon at the top left of your feed. Tap it to take a photo or to add a photo from your library.”
SavesNov 2017
Saving posts became available on mobile web as well as in the Instagram apps.
Before
Introducing Saved Instagram Posts“Starting today, you can save posts you’d like to revisit later. Now you’ll see a new bookmark icon underneath posts in your feed. Simply tap it to save a post to a new, private tab on your profile.”
After
New: Instagram Stories & Save on Mobile Web“Starting today, you can experience instagram. com in two new ways: by creating stories and saving posts you like. You’ll see the camera icon at the top left of your feed. Tap it to take a photo or to add a photo from your library.”
Comment controlsSep 2017
Instagram added controls to choose which groups could comment on public posts and to block specific accounts from commenting without blocking the accounts entirely.
Before
Keeping Instagram Comments Safe“themselves without criticism or harassment. It’s not only my personal wish to do this, I believe it’s also our responsibility as a company. So, today, we’re taking the next step to ensure Instagram remains a positive place to express yourself.”
After
Strengthening Our Commitment to Safety and Kindness for 800 Million“Over time, we’ve launched a number of tools to help you manage the comments experience, and today we’re introducing more. Starting today, if your account is public, you’ll see a new way to choose who can comment on your posts – from everyone to just groups of people, like people you follow or your followers.”
SendsSep 2017
Direct sharing expanded beyond feed posts to Stories, with shared Stories disappearing from messages when the original expired.
Before
Introducing Improvements to Instagram Direct“with friends who you know will appreciate it. Today, people do this by @-mentioning friends in comments, so much so that nearly 40% of comments include an @-mention. This update has made it easier to share content that you love.”
After
New: Share Instagram Stories in Direct“Starting today, you can share stories with your friends in Direct. From stories you follow on surfing to stories about your best friend’s cat, now you have more ways to share the stories you love. Sharing a story in Direct is as easy as sharing a post from your feed.”
StoriesJul 2017
Story replies expanded beyond sending a message to include photo and video replies using a camera button.
Before
New: Share Live Video Replays to Instagram Stories“Starting today, we’re introducing the option to share a replay of your live video to Instagram Stories. Now, more of your friends and followers can catch up on what they missed. When your broadcast has ended, you’ll be able to tap “Share” at the bottom of the screen to add your replay to Instagram Stories for 24 hours.”
After
Introducing Photo and Video Replies to Stories“Starting today, you can reply to stories with a photo or video. From selfies to Boomerangs, now you can be even more fun and playful when you respond to friends. To reply with a photo or a video, tap the new camera button while you’re watching a story.”
HashtagsMay 2017
Hashtag pages expanded beyond photo grids to potentially include a story ring showing stories using that hashtag.
Before
Introducing Instagram Explore, Photo Maps & More“Also, we now display bigger grid photos to make it easier to browse large collections of photos and see them too. You’ll find bigger grid photos on user profiles, the Explore tab, as well as on hashtag and location pages.”
After
Introducing Location and Hashtag Story Exploration“Today we’re excited to announce two new ways to discover the world around you on Explore: location stories and hashtag stories. Now you can see what’s happening around you and find stories related to your interests.”
HashtagsMay 2017
Story hashtags expanded from links to related posts to also making stories eligible for inclusion in shared hashtag stories on Explore.
Before
Introducing Face Filters & More on Instagram“and watch it fly up into your hand. Capture a fountain in motion and share a rewind of the water floating back up. Experiment with some magic tricks of your own and defy the laws of physics wherever you are.”
After
Introducing Location and Hashtag Story Exploration“Today we’re excited to announce two new ways to discover the world around you on Explore: location stories and hashtag stories. Now you can see what’s happening around you and find stories related to your interests.”
Saved postsApr 2017
Saved posts can now be organized into named private collections instead of just kept together in one saved-posts tab.
Before
Introducing Saved Instagram Posts“Starting today, you can save posts you’d like to revisit later. Now you’ll see a new bookmark icon underneath posts in your feed. Simply tap it to save a post to a new, private tab on your profile.”
After
Introducing New Ways to Organize Your Saved Posts“Starting this week, you can save posts into private collections. Tap and hold the bookmark icon underneath any post to save it directly to a collection. You can create and name a new collection when you save a post, or you can add it to one you’ve already created.”
SavesApr 2017
Saving expanded from a single private saved-post list to saving posts directly into named private collections.
Before
Introducing Saved Instagram Posts“Starting today, you can save posts you’d like to revisit later. Now you’ll see a new bookmark icon underneath posts in your feed. Simply tap it to save a post to a new, private tab on your profile.”
After
Introducing New Ways to Organize Your Saved Posts“Starting this week, you can save posts into private collections. Tap and hold the bookmark icon underneath any post to save it directly to a collection. You can create and name a new collection when you save a post, or you can add it to one you’ve already created.”
2016
Comment controlsDec 2016
Instagram expanded comment controls beyond keyword filtering by making the option to turn off comments on individual posts available to everyone.
Before
Keeping Instagram Comments Safe“themselves without criticism or harassment. It’s not only my personal wish to do this, I believe it’s also our responsibility as a company. So, today, we’re taking the next step to ensure Instagram remains a positive place to express yourself.”
After
Keeping Instagram Safe: More Tools and Control“Comments are where the majority of conversation happens on Instagram. While comments are largely positive, they’re not always kind or welcome. Previously, we launched the ability to filter comments based on keywords. This was an important step in giving you more control over your comments experience.”
2014
Captions and keywordsNov 2014
Instagram expanded caption editing from writing and editing captions during creation to editing captions after a post is published.
Before
Introducing Instagram Explore, Photo Maps & More“- Larger text box for captions: It’s now easier to write and edit longer captions for your photos. - Geotag your photos by selecting “Add to Your Photo Map”: Let people know where you took your photo by turning “Add to Your Photo Map” on.”
After
New: Discover Feature Added to Explore and Caption Editing“Today, we’re pleased to announce a bundle of updates and improvements designed to help you discover more on Instagram. In this update, we’re continuing to improve the Explore page on Instagram by making it faster to find people you want to follow.”