Instagram today announced support for adding text and additional images to photo and carousel posts, a new feature that will let Instagram users do more with still photos. There is a new text button that can be used after selecting a photo to upload, and additional images can be added in sticker form by tapping on the gallery button at the top right of the screen. Stickers can be added in several shapes, including rectangle, square, circle, heart, or star. There are new fonts, animations, and effects that can be used for reels and stories, plus a simplified text tool. Users can open the text tool and tap on the text button to see the new font options. Once a…

Instagram has announced a new feature that allows users to add a song to their profile, an update that harks back to Myspace in the early 2000s. Added music appears in the bio area of a user's profile. Unlike Myspace, the songs don't autoplay when someone visits a user's profile. Visitors can play and pause the song - or song sample, since the duration of the music is capped at 30 seconds. "We're excited to announce that you can now add a song to your profile, giving you more ways to express yourself through music," Instagram said in a post from its creators account. "Your profile song selection will be live until you swap out the song." To add a…

Instagram today expanded the number of photos and videos that can be added to a single carousel post, reports The Verge. Standard grid posts have long been limited to a total of 10 images and videos, but the limit has now doubled. On Instagram, carousel posts allow users to "photo dump" multiple photos and videos at one time, and a user's followers can use swipe gestures to view all of them. Multi-image posts show up on a user's page and in the Instagram feed. Instagram rival TikTok supports posts with up to 35 photos, so the new limit brings Instagram closer to the TikTok's image options. Instagram has been testing higher image limits since earlier this year. Support for more…

Instagram today announced several updates for its direct messaging feature, including message editing and pinned chats. Direct messages sent on Instagram can now be edited for up to 15 minutes after sending. To edit a message, long press on it and then choose the "Edit" option. Users will see that the content has been edited, and the feature brings Instagram in line with Facebook and with Apple's own iMessage editing feature. Up to three chats will soon be able to pinned to the top of the message inbox, with support for both group messages and one on one conversations. Swipe left or tap and hold on a chat and choose the "pin" option to pin it to the top of…

With Shazam version 17.3, a user can identify music around them or in apps like YouTube while wearing headphones. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, reviews and how-tos)

Meta has revealed plans to end Instagram users' ability to chat with Facebook accounts later this month, rolling back a feature that it introduced over three years ago. In September 2020, Meta (then Facebook) announced it was merging its Facebook Messenger service with Instagram direct messaging, allowing Instagram users to chat with Facebook users and vice versa using the same platform. The move was supposed to be part of a long-term plan to merge Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp chat platforms into one underlying messaging infrastructure. The idea behind the plan was said to be to keep people within the Facebook ecosystem, and off of rival texting apps like Apple's iMessage. However, according to an updated Instagram support page, beginning in…