Instagram now lets you share your Reels feed with friends
What's the story
Instagram has launched a new feature, called "Blend," to generate a unique Reels feed for you and your friends.
The feature, which is available on both iOS and Android platforms, is invite-only and can be used with one friend or in a group chat.
Every day, these personalized feeds are refreshed with new content, providing an ever-evolving viewing experience.
Steps
How to use the facility?
To set up a Blend, users will have to start a one-on-one or group DM chat and tap the new 'Blend' icon at the top of the conversation.
From here, they can tap on 'Invite' to invite members from their DM chat into the Blend. The feature will be active once at least one member accepts the invitation.
Users can revisit an existing Blend by returning to its DM chat and tapping on the Blend icon again.
Purpose
Fostering social interaction and content discovery
The main objective of the Blend feature is to prompt users to delve into their friends' Reels tastes, while promoting social interaction. It also seeks to enable shared content discovery among users.
With this new social element, Instagram hopes to return to its original mission of sharing moments with friends, something that has been somewhat overlooked with the rise of ads and influencers on the platform.
Unique
'Blend' sets Instagram apart from competitors
The addition of Blend provides Instagram with a distinct advantage over its biggest rival, TikTok.
The feature promotes watching short-form content in a group, perhaps boosting the discovery and watch time of Reels on the platform.
Notably, the capability is somewhat similar to Spotify's "Blend" feature, that lets users merge their taste in music into a collaborative playlist refreshed every day.