what you need to know
- It was discovered that Instagram is working on a new feature called “Blend,” which will blend your preferences for Reels with those of your friends into a series of recommended short videos.
- The feature is still under development, but its early description suggests that your Blend will be private between you and others.
- Instagram’s Blend strongly echoes the feature of the same name that Spotify launched a few years ago.
Instagram has been spotted working on “Blend,” a way for users to gain a new perspective on Reels.
As Alessandro Paluzzi discovered on X, Instagram has started developing “Bend” as a set of recommendations based on your Reels sharing history (via TechCrunch). Essentially, Blend works by leveraging the shared history of Reels between you and other people.
The description states that these Blends are “private between the two of you. You can leave Blends at any time.”
Presumably, the Blend page, which looks like a personal DM thread, will display a feed of Reels. However, some information is still unknown, such as how often Instagram allows Blend to update Reels with new recommendations.
Additionally, it’s likely that Instagram will tuck Blend into the “New Message” option on its DM page, but we’ll have to wait and see.
#instagram is developing Blend: #Reels recommendations based on the reels you share with each other and your reel interests 👀ℹ️ private between the two of you. You can leave Blend at any time. pic.twitter.com/1kcssBuf7GMarch 28, 2024
What’s interesting about this feature is that Spotify launched a version of this feature back in 2021. The music streaming service has launched Blend, which allows up to 10 people to blend their musical tastes for an ever-changing playlist of songs. Their mixed playlists are updated daily and feature pictures of users next to songs they feel represent their combined tastes.
Updates to the Spotify version are fairly fast-paced, helping to bring variety and discovery every day. It’s unclear how far into development Instagram’s upcoming iteration is, so it’s likely still a long way off from its arrival.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Instagram DMs were adding some fun with the classic game “Pong.” As a slight change, users can play Pong with friends using emojis. Users can start this secret DM game by sending emoticons to friends or receiving emoticons from them. Clicking on their emoji (and vice versa) will result in a hidden Pong game.