Instagram introduces ‘Latest Posts’ feature

Instagram  users who miss the reverse chronological feed might get a new way to see the most recent pics and videos from who they follow. Instagram has been spotted internally prototyping a “Latest Posts” feature.

For now, this doesn’t look like a full-fledged “Most Recent” reverse-chronological feed option like what Facebook has for the News Feed. But if launched, Latest Posts could help satisfy users who want to make sure they haven’t missed anything or want to know what’s going on right now.

According to the sources of TechCrunch, The prototype was discovered by Jane Manchun Wong, the master of reverse engineering who’s provided tips on scores of new features in development by tech giants. She generated the screenshots above from the code of Instagram’s Android app. “Welcome Back! Get caught up on the posts from [names of people you follow] and 9 more” reads the pop-up that appears over the home screen. If users tap “See Posts” instead of “Not Now” they’re sent to a separate screen showing recent feed posts.

Instagram has now confirmed the authenticity of the prototype with a spokesperson said that “This early prototype is from a recent hackathon – it is not available to anyone publicly, and we have no plans to test or launch it at this time.” Typically a feature like this is first prototyped internally, then sometimes tested externally if it meshes with Instagram’s objectives, and only then launched officially if the test results are positive.

Another great find, thanks for sharing it. For those who are keen to know how this was developed, it's an early prototype from a recent hackathon (a Facebook tradition). It is not available to anyone publicly, and we have no plans to test or launch it at this time. https://t.co/PMi2QVchLG

— Alexandru Voica (alexvoica.eth) 💀 (@alexvoica) February 14, 2020