Instagram is reportedly moving Story Highlights to its very own dedicated tab on your profile grid, similar to Reels.
Social media expert Lindsey Gamble posted on Threads on Sunday that the feature is currently testing but should go live on Tuesday. Instagram did not immediately respond to Mashable’s request for comment.
“Creators will be able to choose which Highlights appear and can remove Highlights from their main grid,” Gamble posted.
As Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in a recent AMA, the choice is likely due to the platforms efforts to consolidate the user profile.
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“We’re trying to figure out a way to improve the profile and try to get more of the content above the fold and simplify it,” Mosseri said on an Instagram Live. “And one of the ideas we’re exploring is integrating highlights into the grid.”
He admits that “this one is contentious” and that he “might not be able to make it work.”
It makes sense. Instagram users are much more likely to post on their Story than they are to post on their grid, and from personal experience, users don’t often watch someone’s highlights. Adding in another tab on a profile, similar to Reels, increases the amount of time you might spend snooping around someone’s profile.
There are complaints that it takes away the ephemeral nature of an Instagram Story, but a Highlight already does that — this just makes it easier to see.
