Instagram is developing a new feature called Favorites. This feature allows users to choose several favorite accounts to prioritize, so their posts will appear in the top feed.
This new feature was first discovered by developer and reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi. He found a new icon for Favorites in Instagram's Settings menu, and other details about the feature.
According to a screenshot uploaded by Paluzzi on Twitter, Instagram users will later be able to choose the account they follow to create a Favorites list. This list can be edited at any time, and accounts that are added to someone's Favorites list will get a notification from Instagram.
The way it works is more or less the same as the Close Friends feature in Stories. The difference with Close Friends is that users can choose which accounts can see their more personal Stories posts.
Paluzzi said he could add multiple accounts to his Favorites list, but he didn't see a change in the layout of his Instagram feed. So most likely this feature is still being developed and won't be rolling out any time soon.
Instagram confirmed that the Favorites feature is still in development, but they didn't reveal any other details about this feature. "This feature is an internal prototype that is still under development, and not tested externally," an Instagram spokesperson told TechCrunch.
Features such as Favorites are also available on Facebook which aims to make it easier for users to control the News Feed algorithm. On Facebook, users can choose up to 30 friends or Pages that will appear first in the News Feed. It is not yet known if Instagram plans to apply the same limit.
If this feature is launched, then Instagram can at least respond to complaints from users who want the appearance of feeds that are arranged chronologically, and not arranged by an algorithm that cannot be controlled.
The Favorites feature cannot display feeds that are more sequential in chronological order. But at least Instagram users won't miss posts from their friends or favorite creators because they're buried by other posts.
Although Instagram has confirmed the development of the Favorites feature, it is not a guarantee that this feature will be released to the public. Companies as big as Instagram often develop new feature concepts, but only a handful have been piloted for widespread rollout.
