Changes
415 times Instagram's guidance changed, newest first. Each shows what was said before, and what replaced it.
2025
StickersOct 2025
Add Yours expanded to sharing Meta AI restyling edits so friends can apply the same edits to their own images.
Before
Hidden Gems“then lastly we've extended our templates in stories. So we've had an ad your sticker for a while which you've probably seen before things like show the most recent photo from your gallery. We've extended that to allow you to pin other things like stickers and images from your gallery as well.”
After
Restyle your Instagram Stories using Meta AI to Take Your Creativity Further“Using Add Yours stickers will make it easy for friends to use the same edits you made. You can get inspiration from your friends or start your very own viral trend! If you want others to be able to make the same edits, apply an Add Yours sticker, which you can access by swiping up on your restyled image before sharing to your story.”
EffectsOct 2025
Restyle expanded beyond the announced video-editing tools to photo editing in Instagram’s Stories creation flow.
Before
Announcing Restyle, an AI tool built into Edits, and soon Instagram, that allows you to style your videos in all sorts of ways.“This week we're launching Restyle, which is an AI tool to edit videos like this one, and it's going to be in edits in the Meta AI app and in Instagram over time, and allows you to do all sorts of interesting things.”
After
If you haven’t already, check out restyle in the stories creation flow.“If you haven’t already, check out restyle in the stories creation flow. You can take a relatively ho hum photo like this one and have some fun with it.”
Teen safetyOct 2025
Parental conversation visibility expands from seeing whom a teen messaged to planned access to the topics their teen discusses with AI.
Before
Introducing Teen Accounts in India on Instagram“For teens under 16, any changes to make settings less restrictive will require parental approval. Parents can also enable supervision for older teens (16+) at any time, allowing them to review and approve changes to their teen’s safety settings.”
After
Parents already juggle a lot to help their teens navigate the internet safely, and I know many are now wondering how AI fits in.“same way teens should be exposed to that type of content if they're watching a PG thirteen movie. And there's only certain actual characters or AIs that teens can even talk to in the first place.”
Parental supervisionOct 2025
Instagram announced that parents would be able to see the topics of their teen’s AI conversations, extending oversight beyond the existing seven-day list of conversation partners.
Before
Introducing Teen Accounts in India on Instagram“For teens under 16, any changes to make settings less restrictive will require parental approval. Parents can also enable supervision for older teens (16+) at any time, allowing them to review and approve changes to their teen’s safety settings.”
After
Parents already juggle a lot to help their teens navigate the internet safely, and I know many are now wondering how AI fits in.“same way teens should be exposed to that type of content if they're watching a PG thirteen movie. And there's only certain actual characters or AIs that teens can even talk to in the first place.”
Teen safetyOct 2025
Instagram broadened teen content restrictions under a default 13+ standard to cover strong language, certain risky stunts and additional potentially harmful content.
Before
New Protections to Give Teens More Age-Appropriate Experiences on Our Apps“We regularly consult with experts in adolescent development, psychology and mental health to help make our platforms safe and age-appropriate for young people, including improving our understanding of which types of content may be less appropriate for teens.”
After
Instagram Teen Accounts Will Be Inspired by 13+ Movie Ratings Criteria and Parent Feedback“Teen Accounts were already designed to protect teens from inappropriate content and, over the past year, we’ve further refined our age-appropriate guidelines to hide even more potentially inappropriate content in the updated default 13+ content setting.”
SearchOct 2025
Instagram added stricter teen search protections, blocking results for more mature terms and making age-inappropriate accounts harder to find.
Before
Updates to the Sensitive Content Control“personalize their experience on Instagram. Last summer, we launched the Sensitive Content Control so people could choose how much or how little sensitive content to see in Explore from accounts they don’t follow. Today, we’re announcing updates to this control.”
After
Instagram Teen Accounts Will Be Inspired by 13+ Movie Ratings Criteria and Parent Feedback“We spent several months improving and refining our technology to proactively identify content that goes against our updated guidelines, and we’re using this improved technology across Instagram, including: - Accounts: Teens will no longer be able to follow accounts that we’ve found regularly share age-inappropriate content, or if their name or bio suggests the account is inappropriate for teens.”
Reels translationsOct 2025
Translation expanded from English and Spanish to include Portuguese and Hindi, with Instagram access clarified as limited to public accounts in countries where Meta AI is available.
Before
We’re bringing Meta AI voice translations for reels to more people on Instagram and Facebook, starting with English ↔ Spanish and more languages coming soon.“As of this week, all public accounts on Instagram are going to have access to our AI translation feature. Now, for now, what this does is it translates videos from English to Spanish and Spanish to English.”
After
Discover Reels From Around the World With Meta AI Translation“Many creators want to reach global audiences, and their feedback helped shape our work on translation features. With Meta AI, creators can now seamlessly translate and dub reels, breaking down language barriers so they can share their work with more viewers worldwide.”
Reels translationsOct 2025
Reel translations expanded from English and Spanish to also include Portuguese and Hindi.
Before
We’re bringing Meta AI voice translations for reels to more people on Instagram and Facebook, starting with English ↔ Spanish and more languages coming soon.“As of this week, all public accounts on Instagram are going to have access to our AI translation feature. Now, for now, what this does is it translates videos from English to Spanish and Spanish to English.”
After
You can now translate your reels between English, Português, Español, and हिंदी.“You can now translate your reels between English, Português, Español, and हिंदी. It’s been exciting to see how this helps connect people and creators across language barriers. More language to come soon.”
Reels translationsOct 2025
Reels voice translation expanded from English and Spanish to include Portuguese and Hindi.
Before
We’re bringing Meta AI voice translations for reels to more people on Instagram and Facebook, starting with English ↔ Spanish and more languages coming soon.“We’re bringing Meta AI voice translations for reels to more people on Instagram and Facebook, starting with English ↔ Spanish and more languages coming soon. We’re excited about the potential for this to help your content reach new audiences who speak other languages.”
After
You can now translate your reels between English, Português, Español, and हिंदी.“You can now translate your reels between English, Português, Español, and हिंदी. It’s been exciting to see how this helps connect people and creators across language barriers. More language to come soon.”
Privacy settingsOct 2025
The private-by-default guidance expanded to Teen Accounts generally, with parental permission required for under-16s to make their accounts public.
Before
As a dad to three, I know it’s important to create an Instagram experience for young people that’s safe and private but also fun.“As a dad to three, I know it’s important to create an Instagram experience for young people that’s safe and private but also fun. That’s why we’re sharing some updates: - Now everyone under 16 will be defaulted to a private account when they join Instagram - We’re making it harder for adults to contact teens who don’t want to hear from them - We’re limiting ways advertisers can reach young people on Instagram and Facebook We’ll keep listening to feedback from teens, parents, lawmakers and experts – and working to keep Instagram safe.”
After
Worried about your teens on social media?“Teen accounts are an automatic set of protections that try and give parents some peace of mind and make sure that Instagram is an appropriate experience for their teens. They focus primarily on three things: what kind of content a teen can see, whether or not or who can reach out to that teen so that unwanted contact is a concern we want to make sure we address, and then overall time, how much time a teen can spend on Instagram.”
Personalized recommendationsOct 2025
Instagram announced that interactions with its AI features would become an additional signal for personalizing recommendations.
Before
What Creators Need To Know About Instagram Recommendations“We look at a number of signals to personalize recommendations, such as how many and how quickly other people are liking, commenting, sharing and saving a post; a person’s interaction history with the person who posted; other posts a person has liked or commented on; etcetera.”
After
Improving Your Recommendations on Our Apps With AI at Meta“Your interactions with content on Facebook and Instagram have long shaped what appears in your feed. Just like other personalized services, we tailor the ads and content you see based on your activity, ensuring that your experience evolves as your interests change.”
Teen safetySep 2025
Teen Accounts move from an ongoing worldwide rollout to being available globally on Instagram.
Before
We’re Introducing New Built-In Restrictions for Instagram Teen Accounts, and Expanding to Facebook and Messenger“Since September, there are at least 54 million teens globally in Teen Accounts*, with many more to come as we continue to roll out around the world. These teens now have enhanced protections, like automatically being placed into private accounts and the strictest setting of our content controls.”
After
Hundreds of Millions of Teens Are Now in Teen Accounts, Plus We’re Adding More Support for Schools and Teachers“A year ago, we introduced Teen Accounts — a significant step to help keep teens safe across our apps. As of today, we’ve placed hundreds of millions of teens in Teen Accounts across Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger.”
Teen safetySep 2025
The School Partnership Program moves from a pilot to general availability for US middle and high schools, with prioritized reports targeted for review within 48 hours.
Before
Partnering Directly With Schools and Teachers to Address Bullying“We recently introduced Instagram Teen Accounts, a new experience for teens, guided by parents. Teen Accounts were designed to give parents peace of mind that their teens are having safe, age-appropriate experiences on Instagram, with built-in protections turned on automatically.”
After
Hundreds of Millions of Teens Are Now in Teen Accounts, Plus We’re Adding More Support for Schools and Teachers“While we’re focused on providing young people with built-in protections and giving parents ways to directly manage their teens’ experiences, we recognize there are many who play a role in keeping teens safe — including teachers and schools.”
Personalized recommendationsSep 2025
Recommendation controls expanded from feedback such as 'not interested' to viewing, adding and removing inferred interests, initially for Reels.
Before
What Creators Need To Know About Instagram Recommendations“We look at a number of signals to personalize recommendations, such as how many and how quickly other people are liking, commenting, sharing and saving a post; a person’s interaction history with the person who posted; other posts a person has liked or commented on; etcetera.”
After
Instagram is now at three billion monthly active users While we’ve evolved over the years, we want to continue to stand for creativity in everything we do.“a page that lets you know what we think you're interested in, and then you can make all the changes you want. You can remove things, add things, and those changes will be reflected at first in the reels tab and then eventually also in Explore and in Feed.”
CommentsSep 2025
Comment pinning was expanded to let creators pin their own comments on their posts.
Before
Continuing Our Work to Fight Online Bullying“In addition to removing negative comments, we want to give people an easy way to amplify and encourage positive interactions. Soon, we’ll begin testing Pinned Comments. This feature gives people a way to set the tone for their account and engage with their community by pinning a select number of comments to the top of their comments thread.”
After
A few weeks ago someone asked me why you can’t pin your own comments on your posts.“A few weeks ago someone asked me why you can’t pin your own comments on your posts. This was a great suggestion so we made the change to make it possible. Always appreciate the feedback”
CommentsSep 2025
Comment pinning was expanded to let creators pin their own comments on their posts.
Before
In a continuation of our work to lead the industry in the fight against online bullying, we’re announcing three new tools today.“In a continuation of our work to lead the industry in the fight against online bullying, we’re announcing three new tools today. First, we’re testing Pinned Comments, a feature to help people set the tone for their accounts by pinning a select number of comments to the top of their comments thread.”
After
A few weeks ago someone asked me why you can’t pin your own comments on your posts.“A few weeks ago someone asked me why you can’t pin your own comments on your posts. This was a great suggestion so we made the change to make it possible. Always appreciate the feedback”
FollowsSep 2025
The new iPad Following tab adds recommended All and mutual-follow Friends views alongside the chronological Latest view, rather than offering only a chronological Following feed.
Before
Two New Ways to Control Your Instagram Feed“Your Instagram feed is a mix of photos and videos from people you follow, suggested posts and more. Over time, we’re going to add more recommendations to your feed based on your interests — Favorites and Following are new ways to catch up on recent posts from the accounts you follow.”
After
It’s finally here! Introducing Instagram for iPad, designed for bigger screens“We’ve heard your requests for easier ways to make sure you’re not missing updates from your favorite accounts, so we’re introducing a new “Following” tab on iPad, which gives you multiple ways to see the latest and greatest from the accounts you follow: - All: Recommended posts and reels from accounts you follow - Friends: Recommended post and reels from accounts you follow, that follow you back - Latest: Chronological posts and reels from accounts you follow, with the most recent posts appearing first.”
FeedSep 2025
The new iPad app added a dedicated Following tab, extending access beyond the previously described Instagram-logo menu.
Before
@instagram turns 15 later this year and yesterday launched its largest ever campaign with @feliciathegoat, @rosalia.“So a couple different things. One, there is a chronological timeline. If you just tap on the logo at the top, you can go to following. It's just accounts you follow. It's in chronological order. If you want it, you can get to it today.”
After
We’re bringing Instagram to iPad. I’m really excited about this one because we took the time to design for the bigger screen.“you look at how people use bigger screens, they tend to use them less times a day than a phone, but for more time each time they use the device. And that's also how people tend to consume video on bigger screens.”
FollowsAug 2025Reversed
The older statement directs users to a followers list, while the newer statement says followers are not available in one list in one place.
Before
Keeping Instagram Safe: More Tools and Control“Some people on Instagram choose to have private accounts, which means they approve each follower. This is an important way for people to feel comfortable sharing with close friends and family. In the past, once you approved a follower, there was no simple way to undo that decision without blocking them.”
After
AMA: can I see who has unfollowed me?“Alright, timeless question: Can you see who follows you on Instagram? Technically yes, but it's not easy and it's not one list all in one place. We want people to feel comfortable unfollowing people because their interests change and with it their graphs should change too.”
Instagram InsightsAug 2025
Moment-by-moment reel analysis expands to show where viewers give likes, alongside viewing retention.
Before
New Ways to Create Content on Instagram“We’re making improvements to help you better understand how your reels content is performing. We introduced a new Reels metric on Facebook and Instagram called Replays and we updated the definition of Reels Plays to also include Replays in addition to Initial Plays.”
After
AMA: how long should my reels be??“So there is no perfect length for a reel, but generally we recommend reels under three minutes because Instagram is generally focused on shorter video. And I would also suggest a few things: one, think about what your hook is, how you're gonna get someone's attention in the first three seconds.”
LikesAug 2025
Beyond checking overall like rates, creators could now see where likes occurred within a reel to identify the moments viewers enjoyed.
Before
If you’re trying to optimize for reach, the metrics you should pay the most attention to are average watch time (for reels), like rate (likes per people reached) and send rate (sends per people reached).“These are the three metrics you should pay the most attention to if you're optimizing for reach. I want to be clear: you need to be you and be authentic. Don't just care about reach, but obviously you want to create content that's going to reach more people.”
After
AMA: how long should my reels be??“So there is no perfect length for a reel, but generally we recommend reels under three minutes because Instagram is generally focused on shorter video. And I would also suggest a few things: one, think about what your hook is, how you're gonna get someone's attention in the first three seconds.”
Posting frequencyAug 2025
The general advice to post more is refined into experimenting with an audience-appropriate, sustainable frequency, with successful examples ranging from monthly to several times daily.
Before
I’ve been getting questions on how often you should post on Instagram.“I've got a lot of questions in the last couple days about how much to post on Instagram, and so I did want to make sure you know that you should prioritize quality over quantity. But in general, posting more will help.”
After
AMA: is it a problem if I post too much or too little?“So this is a question about how much you post. Is it possible to post too little or too much, and how do you maximize your reach? Now the unfortunate answer is that there isn't a perfect amount to post for everybody.”
Close FriendsAug 2025
Close Friends became an audience option for opt-in location sharing on Instagram Map.
Before
Hidden Gems“Instagram is where you can connect with your friends over the things that you care about. So this week I wanted to do a quick hidden gems video highlighting some of my favorite features that we've launched over the years on Instagram to help you connect with your friends.”
After
Quick Friend Map clarification: your location will only be shared *if* you decide to share it, and if you do, it can only shared with a limited group of people you choose.“Quick Friend Map clarification: your location will only be shared *if* you decide to share it, and if you do, it can only shared with a limited group of people you choose. To start, location sharing is *completely off.”
LocationAug 2025
The newer statement clarifies that map location sharing is off by default and limited to a chosen audience, while location-tagged Stories appear for 24 hours and show the tagged place rather than a live location.
Before
Introducing three new features to help you better connect with friends: Reposts, Friend Map, and a ‘Friends’ feed in the Reels tab.“location of people who decided to share their location with them, as well as any photos, carousel, stories that have location attached to them. So it's a great way not only to stay connected with your closest friends, but also to see what's going on around you.”
After
Quick Friend Map clarification: your location will only be shared *if* you decide to share it, and if you do, it can only shared with a limited group of people you choose.“Quick Friend Map clarification: your location will only be shared *if* you decide to share it, and if you do, it can only shared with a limited group of people you choose. To start, location sharing is *completely off.”
ReelsAug 2025
Blend recommendations became accessible through the new Friends tab in Reels, extending them beyond the shared feed in DMs.
Before
We’re introducing Blend as a new way to connect with your friends in DMs.“We’re introducing Blend as a new way to connect with your friends in DMs. Blend is a shared feed of Reels that combines recommendations you and your friends may like. To start a blend with a friend or group of friends, go to a DM and click the Blend icon.”
After
New Features to Help You Connect With Friends“We’re introducing Friends, a new tab in Reels where you can see public content your friends have interacted with or recommendations from Blends you’ve started and easily start conversations about them. Friends will help you see which reels the people you care about most are creating and are engaging with.”
Instagram MapAug 2025
The map experience changes from profile-based Photo Maps showcasing geotagged photos to a map in the DM inbox showing location-tagged posts, Reels, Stories and Notes for 24 hours.
Before
Introducing Instagram Explore, Photo Maps & More“Introducing Photo Maps, a new way to browse photos on Instagram. Your Photo Map appears on your profile and lets you showcase your photos on a map. Also, you’ll be able to see other users’ maps from their profiles as well.”
After
New Features to Help You Connect With Friends“have important conversations about how to safely share with friends. You can decide whether your teen has access to location sharing on the map and see who your teen is sharing their location with. - Learn more about sharing location.”
RepostsAug 2025
Instagram expanded resharing beyond Stories with a dedicated tool for reposting public reels and feed posts to friends’ and followers’ feeds and a separate profile tab.
Before
Instagram Story Ideas“Stories are not just for photos. Using Create mode, start with words to capture your thoughts or feelings. Layer in photos, music, GIFs, and stickers to add more context to your caption. Begin with a hot take, an interesting observation, or a question that invites friends to share their thoughts.”
After
New Features to Help You Connect With Friends“With reposts, you can repost public reels and feed posts, making it easier for you to share your interests with your friends. Reposts will be recommended to your friends’ and followers’ feeds, and they’ll also be in a separate tab on your profile, so you can always go back to revisit your reposts.”
Friends' interactionsAug 2025
The Friends feed in Reels is expanding globally and now includes friends’ reposts, extending the earlier announcement of a feed showing reels friends had liked.
Before
Bringing your friends to the Reels tab.“We're gonna bring your friends to the reels tab on Instagram. We want Instagram not to be just a place where creators share their creativity, but one where people connect over that creativity with friends with shared interests.”
After
Introducing three new features to help you better connect with friends: Reposts, Friend Map, and a ‘Friends’ feed in the Reels tab.“location of people who decided to share their location with them, as well as any photos, carousel, stories that have location attached to them. So it's a great way not only to stay connected with your closest friends, but also to see what's going on around you.”
Ad personalizationJun 2025Reversed
Instagram described its EU subscription as ad-free, but Mosseri later said the subscription retains ads and makes them less personalized.
Before
Facebook and Instagram to Offer Subscription for No Ads in Europe“A year ago, we launched Subscription for no ads in the EU to comply with changing regulatory requirements, specifically the GDPR and the DMA. Offering a choice between a paid subscription and free access to a service funded by personalized ads is a well-established business model and a valid legal consent choice under EU law, as supported by a judgment given by the Court of Justice of the European Union.”
After
@instagram turns 15 later this year and yesterday launched its largest ever campaign with @feliciathegoat, @rosalia.“So we do have in Europe a subscription service that doesn't get rid of ads entirely, but it moves to more basic, less personalized ads. Generally speaking, we know that some people don't love ads, but they're an amazing way for us to provide a service to over two billion people for free.”
Trial ReelsJun 2025
Instagram expanded trial reels from their initial launch to availability for everyone.
Before
Test Content With Non-Followers Using Trial Reels“We often hear from creators that they feel nervous about posting too much or trying out content that’s outside of their niche on Instagram, for fear of it not resonating with their followers. Trial reels will be shown to non-followers first.”
After
Inspiring Creativity That Brings People Together“We know creative expression can feel intimidating, especially when posting something to feed. To address this directly, we’re exploring a way to let you quietly post to your profile without broadcasting it to everyone’s feeds. We’ll also make it possible to re-order the posts on your grid.”