Instagram is testing a number of new features including the ability to search for GIFs to upload in your stories, according to screenshots obtained by The Next Web. TNW also detailed a number of other new features Instagram appears to be testing: a close friends list to share with only a small group of people, an automatic archiving option for all your stories, hashtag and emoji search options, and the ability to follow hashtags to get top posts and stories on a particular trend. Granted, all of these are just tests, so we may not see them become public features anytime soon — if ever.
Yet another new feature TNW detailed with a screenshot is a bit more curious than the others. The screenshot shows a dual-arrow icon symbolizing what would appear to be a repost button that would sit next to the standard like, comment, and send buttons. An official “regram” button would allow users to easily repost photos from friends and other followers. The feature has been a top request of users for years, with a number of third-party apps on iOS and Android standing in to help automate the process in lieu of an official option from Instagram itself. Reposting has also been a hallmark of nearly every big US social network, with Facebook’s share and Twitter’s retweet buttons the most obvious examples, and yet Instagram has stubbornly refused to abide by this particular design conformity.
However, it’s not clear reposting is what the button in the screenshot symbolizes, although it’s certainly likely. Instagram declined to comment on the screenshot or any of the other tests, refusing to say whether it was working on or testing a regram button. That said, if this did become a new feature, it would surely be a useful one, as it would remove the need to put image credits as a caption on reuploaded photo or piece of artwork. A native regram button would also remove the need to use third-party apps like Repost for Instagram and Regrann, which may be why Instagram is staying silent on the subject for now.
