David Bridges
What’s old is new again, it seems. Instagram is reportedly testing a new feature that lets users… share status updates.
Yes, the same feature that was a staple of 2007 Facebook is making a comeback. Or, at least, parent company Meta (which owns both Facebook and Instagram) wants to make it a comeback. The status sharing combines the oversharing-friendly messages and combines them with Stories, allowing them to disappear after 24 hours, according to XDA Developers which first reported the test. Similar to Stories, it’s possible to curate who gets to see these notes between a wide audience or just those marked as “Close Friends.”
The status sharing change wasn’t announced by Instagram officially and not every user has it, so it’s unclear how many people the test has been rolled out for, what locations are included, or even how long the test will run.
The status update has made somewhat surprising appearances elsewhere recently. Twitter, of all places, is letting some users add pre-written statuses to their tweets. A menu appears offering quips like “hot take” with a chili emoji and “Case of the Mondays.” The social media app has experimented with statuses before, but who knows, maybe it’ll be cool now. Like vintage social media. You cannot, however, make your own statuses of overwrought song lyrics. Clearly, Instagram’s more flexible note writing feature veers closer to the true aughts experience of status updating.
To see if the new feature is available, make sure the Instagram app is updated. From there, navigate to the Messages tab to see if the option appear beneath the search bar. If so, a prompt will encourage you to, “Share what’s on your mind…” A recipe for a fun way to keep others up to date on life’s changes or to create another moment to cringe at lying awake in bed years later.
It’s a curious move as Meta continues its fall from grace. Much of Facebook and Instagram’s updates have been to copy other apps’ features, including TikTok and BeReal. The status update as a return to the Facebook of old sticks out quite differently among those Hail Mary attempts to keep users engaged.
Maya Kensington
