Dive Brief:
- Instagram has now added a feature that users have long requested: pinch to zoom for photos and videos on the platform.
- The update has rolled out on the iOS version of the app and will be coming to the Android version in the next few weeks.
- There are limitations to the pinch-and-zoom feature, the Verge points out, as Instagram caps image uploads at 1080 pixels wide.
Today we’re bringing ZOOM to Instagram on iOS! Pinch to zoom on photos & videos in feed, on profiles and on Explore pic.twitter.com/j1g4JQozK2
— Instagram (@instagram) August 31, 2016
Dive Insight:
After users cried out for a pinch-and-zoom feature on the app, Instagram has finally decided to give them what they want. The feature has been so desired that there are even how-to instruction articles from frustrated users showing others how the device and OS itself can be used to zoom within the Instagram app. By enabling users to pinch-and-zoom on Instagram, the platform is showing users it has been listening and is willing to make changes to meet their suggestions.
For marketers active on Instagram, the change makes it even more important to double check the background and finer elements of any photos or video shared — lest something embarrassing is found by intrepid users. This is especially key for content shared organically since marketers have long used Instagram for informal and behind-the-scenes type content to develop engagement with followers.
Instagram has been busy rolling out new features onto the app lately: The app has been actively promoting its new business tools for brands and recently launched Stories, a new feature that echoes Snapchat's feature of the same name.
