2017 was an action-packed year for Instagram

Beyoncé’s pregnancy announcement accrued over 11 million likes in 2017. Image: Instagram/Béyoncé via AFP Relaxnews

Following the launch of features such as Stories and the option of saving favorite pictures in the Saved section in 2016, Instagram kept the momentum going this year by continuing to offer its users new tools.

All the social networks worked on adding features in 2017, and Instagram was no exception, beefing up its service in order to attract an ever-increasing number of users, especially younger users more used to Snapchat. The year 2017 might be seen as a turning point for Instagram, as its Stories became hugely popular. Many other features were introduced throughout the year.

A major change occurred at the social network in February 2017 with the introduction of photo albums which enable users to share up to ten photos (or videos) in a single post. This feature prevents user feeds from getting overloaded with different content on the same topic. Albums are permanent, in contrast to Stories, which disappear 24 hours after being posted.

Other features introduced in 2017 included live videos (which can be incorporated into Stories), the option of archiving photos, and even incorporating polls in stories. The idea is to provide a fun way of asking friends simple questions such as what to wear on a particular day (“Should I wear this dress or these jeans?”) or what to eat (“Should I finish this old piece of pizza or make some pasta?”). This can also be a subtle way for brands to tap into the views of their fans.

As 2017 comes to a close, the photo-sharing platform continues to evolve. It will now offer “recommended for you” posts in its user feeds, allowing users to see what other people have liked, which might appeal to them too.

Instagram currently has over 800 million active users around the world. Singer and actress Selena Gomez has the biggest community of fans, with just over 129 million followers, ahead of both Cristiano Ronaldo (116 million) and Ariana Grande (115 million). JB

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