Latest news with #Picks
Hans India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hans India
Instagram Experiments with ‘Picks' to Connect Friends Through Shared Interests in Movies, Music, and More
Instagram is quietly working on a fresh way to get users talking — and it's all about shared tastes. The social media giant is developing a new feature called 'Picks', designed to match friends based on common favourites in categories like movies, TV shows, books, music, and games. The concept is simple: you select your personal favourites, and Instagram compares them with your friends' selections to highlight overlaps. Think of it as a mash-up between Spotify Wrapped and a friendship compatibility test, built directly into the app. The goal? To nudge people toward real conversations instead of sticking to double-taps and emoji replies. Meta, Instagram's parent company, confirmed to TechCrunch that Picks is still an internal prototype. The tool is in what one might call the 'lab experiment' stage — far from a public release. And, like many of Instagram's experimental features, there's no guarantee it will ever roll out. The first hint of its existence came from Alessandro Paluzzi, a well-known app researcher and reverse engineer famous for unearthing unreleased social media tools. Paluzzi shared screenshots showing how users could browse different categories and pick their top favorites. Those choices would then be cross-referenced with friends' lists to reveal shared interests — perhaps opening the door to debates over the best '90s indie band or swapping recommendations for niche TV dramas. The idea fits neatly with Instagram head Adam Mosseri's vision for the platform in 2025. Back in January, Mosseri wrote: 'To help people connect with friends over the things they discover on Instagram, we're going to double down on messaging, make consuming content more interactive and social, and explore new ways to connect with friends.' In essence, Instagram is aiming to shift from being just a content feed to becoming more like a bustling online hangout spot — a place where you share, chat, and even argue about sequels versus originals. However, new features on Instagram often meet mixed reactions. Over the years, the app has been criticized for piling on tools, leading some users to feel it's becoming cluttered. The recent launch of Instagram Map sparked backlash from users puzzled about why they suddenly had a new location feature they never requested. Given its current prototype status, there's no timeline for Picks, and there's every chance it could join Instagram's long list of 'features that never were.' Meta regularly experiments with concepts that never make it past the testing phase. Still, for users who enjoy personality quizzes or discovering unexpected common ground with friends, Picks has the potential to become an engaging new way to interact. Whether it turns into the next Stories-style success or fades quietly into the background will depend on how users respond — and whether Instagram can keep it fun without turning it into yet another ad-focused algorithm tool.
India Today
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Instagram testing Picks feature to match users by shared movies, music, books, and more
Instagram is cooking up yet another way to keep you glued to the app, this time by playing matchmaker over your taste in films, music, books, and more. The new tool, called 'Picks,' is designed to help you discover what you have in common with friends, potentially sparking more conversation beyond the usual double-taps and emoji Instagram's parent company, confirmed to TechCrunch that Picks is currently an internal prototype. It's still in the 'playing around with it in the lab' phase and nowhere near your feed, feature was first spotted by serial app sleuth and reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, who has a knack for digging up Instagram's unreleased experiments. In the screenshots he shared, users can select their personal favourites across categories like films, TV shows, books, games, and music. These 'Picks' are then cross-referenced with your friends' selections, highlighting shared tastes. Think Spotify Wrapped meets friendship compatibility test, but baked into Instagram. Instagram hasn't provided any official details on how it would work in practice, but it's not hard to imagine the motivation. In theory, Picks could encourage users to connect on a more personal level, nudging them to swap recommendations or debate the merits of each other's choices. Instead of endlessly scrolling past content, you might actually message someone because you both love the same niche TV drama or 90s indie idea aligns neatly with Instagram head Adam Mosseri's stated vision for the platform in 2025. Back in January, Mosseri posted: 'To help people connect with friends over the things they discover on Instagram, we're going to double down on messaging, make consuming content more interactive and social, and explore new ways to connect with friends.'In other words, Instagram wants to feel less like a content vending machine and more like the internet's busiest pub, full of chatter, sharing, and the occasional argument over whether a sequel was better than the course, this being Instagram, not everyone will cheer the arrival of another feature. The app has been steadily packing in more bells and whistles over the years, leading some users to complain it's becoming overcrowded and bloated. Instagram is still dealing with backlash from its recent 'Instagram Map' rollout, which left many people wondering why they'd been given a new location feature they never asked because Picks is still in early development, there's no telling when, or if, it will launch. Meta often experiments with features that never see the light of day, so this could end up as another entry in Instagram's long list of 'what could have been.'Still, for those who enjoy a good personality quiz or want to uncover unexpected common ground with their friends, Picks could prove to be a surprisingly engaging addition. Whether it becomes the next Stories-style hit or quietly disappears into the feature graveyard will depend on whether users embrace it, and whether Instagram can resist the urge to turn it into yet another algorithm-driven ad machine.- EndsTrending Reel
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Instagram is developing a feature that helps users find shared interests
Instagram is working on a feature called 'Picks' that aims to help users find common interests. The Meta-owned social network confirmed to TechCrunch that Picks is an internal prototype and isn't being tested externally. The feature was first spotted by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, who often finds unreleased features while they're still under development. According to screenshots shared by Paluzzi, people select their favorite movies, books, TV shows, games, and music, or their 'Picks.' Instagram then finds overlaps with friends who chose the same things. While Instagram hasn't shared any details about the feature, the company likely views Picks as a way for users to connect more personally with friends and spark conversations around shared interests. Instagram head Adam Mosseri said earlier this year that the social network was going to focus on creativity and connection in 2025. 'To help people connect with friends over the things they discover on Instagram, we're going to double down on messaging, make consuming content more interactive and social, and explore new ways to connect with friends,' Mosseri wrote in a January Instagram post. Of course, not everyone will welcome Picks, as it adds yet another feature to an already overcrowded app. Instagram is facing backlash following the launch of Instagram Map, with many users saying they never wanted the feature in the first place. As with any other feature in development, it's known when or if Instagram plans to officially roll out Picks. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
TechCrunch
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- TechCrunch
Instagram is developing a feature that helps users find shared interests
Instagram is working on a feature called 'Picks' that aims to help users find common interests. The Meta-owned social network confirmed to TechCrunch that Picks is an internal prototype and isn't being tested externally. The feature was first spotted by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, who often finds unreleased features while they're still under development. According to screenshots shared by Paluzzi, people select their favorite movies, books, TV shows, games, and music, or their 'Picks.' Instagram then finds overlaps with friends who chose the same things. #Instagram is working on Picks 👀 ℹ️ Add what you're into and find overlap with friends who are all about it too — Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) August 6, 2025 While Instagram hasn't shared any details about the feature, the company likely views Picks as a way for users to connect more personally with friends and spark conversations around shared interests. Instagram head Adam Mosseri said earlier this year that the social network was going to focus on creativity and connection in 2025. 'To help people connect with friends over the things they discover on Instagram, we're going to double down on messaging, make consuming content more interactive and social, and explore new ways to connect with friends,' Mosseri wrote in a January Instagram post. Of course, not everyone will welcome Picks, as it adds yet another feature to an already overcrowded app. Instagram is facing backlash following the launch of Instagram Map, with many users saying they never wanted the feature in the first place. As with any other feature in development, it's known when or if Instagram plans to officially roll out Picks.
Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Yahoo
Instagram's Experimenting With a New Way to Highlight Your Interests
This story was originally published on Social Media Today. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Social Media Today newsletter. As it officially launches a range of new features designed to help users connect in the app, Instagram's also testing out a new option on this front, in the form of 'Picks,' which would enable users to highlight things that they're interested in via their inbox Notes. As you can see in these example screens, shared by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi, Instagram's currently in the early stages of experimenting with Picks, which you would be able to access via an icon at the top of your inbox in the app. As Instagram explains in the second image above, Picks would enable you to highlight your interests, in order to 'find overlap with friends who are all about it too.' So, for example, you would be able to search for a topic within the Picks display, and then choose from specific subjects in the list. It could be another way to encourage more connection in the app, which aligns with a core function of Instagram, in bringing people together. Indeed, earlier this year, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri explained that the team is focused on maximizing both creativity and connection, with the latter set to include a range of new features to drive more user engagement. As per Mosseri: 'We're also going to look for more ways to make recommendations and consuming content more interactive and more social, and we're going to be exploring some new ways to connect with your friends on Instagram.' Picks, along with the new friend feed for Reels, the friend map, and re-posts, all align with expanded discovery, and facilitating connection between users via their shared interests. Will that work? I mean, Instagram has seen some success with features like inbox Notes, which provide another means to connect. And with fewer people posting original content, social platforms have become more interest-based, as opposed to expressive, so it makes sense that IG might be able to facilitate more connection around what people are interested in, as opposed to what they share. Meta's also presumably seeing some erosion in its user interest graphs, because with algorithms now showing you a constant stream of content that it thinks you'll like, you no longer need to like and follow in order to dictate such, as the systems are now much better at inferring interest based on your viewing activity. Direct indicators do still play a role, but users are growing more accustomed to automated refinement, which is likely having some impact on Meta's capacity to understand user interests for ad targeting and the like. So maybe, something like Picks works to provide more context, as well as expanded engagement activity. It seems like an interesting experiment either way. I've asked IG for more info on the test and will update this post if/when I get more info. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
