Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

A new Instagram feature will make it even easier to waste your time patrolling feeds

Updated Oct 12th, 2018 7:07AM EDT
Instagram Scrolling
Image: Mashable

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

Facebook recently announced that it’ll also tell you how much time you spend on its apps, joining a brand new trend in tech these days, but that doesn’t mean it necessarily wants you to quit wasting time on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. A new leak shows that Instagram may soon receive a new navigation feature that will make it even easier to lose yourself in endless streams of pictures and videos.

According to TechCrunch, Instagram is looking to replace scrolling, which is how you navigate between posts right now, with tapping. Instagram confirmed it’s testing the feature without saying whether or not it’ll reach your feed in the near future:

We’re always testing ways to improve the experience on Instagram and bring you closer to the people and things you love.

The feature is already available in the wild for some users, having been first seen by Twitter user @SupraBo_:

https://twitter.com/SupraBo_/status/1050449686547447808

While the change seems meaningless, it may completely alter the way some people navigate through posts on Instagram. Scrolling can be tiring, especially for older people. So tapping on the screen to proceed to the next image would keep people inside Instagram for more extended periods of time. And the more you stay inside the app, the more likely it’ll be to see sponsored content between those taps.

As TechCrunch explains, the feature looks a lot like the current navigation system for Stories. Also, it’s a lot like Snapchat, so it’s no surprise that Facebook is copying it. After all, Facebook did everything it could to steal Snapchat feature for its own social products.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.