Instagram is on a feature rollout spree. The latest one to join the list is the ability to search on Instagram through keywords. Until now, users could only search through hashtags, usernames and locations but now for the first time, users will be able to search with keywords.
The new feature has started to rollout in Countries US, Ireland, UK, New Zealand, Canada and Australia. The feature will only be available in English and there’s no update as to when it might arrive in other regions.
Earlier, if you needed to search for ‘healthy diet’ on Instagram, you had to put in a hashtag before your search term and Instagram would show you only those results that contained the specific hashtag you searched for or accounts that had the specific hashtag variations in their name or bio.
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But now, with keyword search, Instagram will show you relevant posts to that keyword even if the hashtag is missing which widely expands the scope of search functionality on the application.
A company spokesperson told ‘The Verge’ that the team considers “a number of factors,” including the “type of content, captions, when it was posted,” and more to surface relevant results. It also uses machine learning to “find the highest quality content that’s relevant to you.” For now, only grid posts will show up.
Instagram is also expanding the support for the ‘Guides’ feature it introduced back in May. The Guides feature helps creators share tips, resources and other content regarding a specific topic through the dedicated Guides Tab in their profile. Earlier, this feature was available only to a handful of creators but now it is rolling out for all users.