Instagram has built out a new feature that is found in many popular apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Messenger. The new feature tells users when they last checked the app. The new ‘show activity status’ is turned on by default from the inside setting of Instagram, but it can be even toggled off if one wants to.
The new feature was enabled on Thursday for iOS and Android devices. The activity status only appears in the direct inbox or to those who tag one for Instagram Stories, thus not letting everyone see the last active time. To change the visibility of the active status, users will need to go to the ‘setting’, then to ‘Edit Profile and then can toggle the activity status feature to turn it off. If the user turns it off, they won’t be able to see anyone else.
We’re always working on ways to make it easier to have fun, real-time conversation with friends on Instagram. We recently rolled out the ability to see when people you follow or message in direct were last active on Instagram, and they can see when you were last active. – Instagram spokesperson
Apart from this, it has also come up with another feature that allows one to see if an account follows them or not. If they are looking at a profile of someone who follows them, but they don’t follow, the profile will show the ‘follow back’ option instead of just ‘follow.’
Alongside adding new features, Instagram is testing a security feature on its app. This feature will notify the users if someone takes a screenshot of their stories. Currently, the app notifies only if the image or video is sent to Instagram directly but the new feature will also expand to the public stories.