Instagram inboxes are about to get a little busier. The app is adding two-second looping videos and direct replies to Notes, the status update-admire feature that lives at the top of users’ inboxes.
The feature was first introduced as a way to share quick text updates with your mutual followers and close friends. Since then, the company has also added capabilities to the feature. Now, with the latest change, users will also be able to share 2-second looping videos in the space, almost admire a mini Boomerang. The clip will appear at the top of your friends’ inboxes in place of your normal profile photo.
At the same time, Meta is also adding the ability for people to communicate with their friends’ notes similar to how you might answer to a Stories post. Tapping on a note at the top of your inbox brings up a shortcut to reply with a GIF, sticker, voice note, photo or text. Replies to notes are routed to users’ inboxes alongside other messages.
The updates come as Meta has looked for more low-pressure ways to encourage users to share on its apps, including with smaller groups of friends. The company recently rolled out the ability feed posts and Reels with “close friends” only. It’s also recently working on a feature called “flipside,” which could offer a directly in users’ profiles.
