Instagram has introduced a new feature that allows users to create collections with their friends, called “collaborative collections.” The new feature lets people connect with friends over shared interests and save posts to a collaborative collection in a group chat or a one-on-one direct message.
This feature could be seen as a rival to Pinterest’s “Group boards” feature, which has been available since 2018.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced the update on Wednesday, stating that users could create a custom name for the collection and share it with friends, who can start adding content from reels, Explore, Feed, and DMs to the collection.
Users can add or remove posts from the collection, and they can also add posts shared in a chat directly to a collaborative collection. Collaborative collections have numerous use cases, such as helping a group of friends plans a trip by saving posts of places they want to see or things they want to try.
Collaborative collections could also be used for day-to-day things like curating a dedicated space where users and their friends can share posts about mutual interests, such as memes, baking recipes, workout tips, and craft ideas.
The launch of this new feature comes as Instagram recently introduced a new way for users to connect with others on the social media platform, called “Channels.” Channels allow creators to share public, one-to-many messages to directly engage with their followers. Channels support text, images, polls, reactions, and more. Additionally, earlier this month, the social network began testing a new feature that lets users quickly access their recently shared reels, making it easier for users to reshare a reel they liked with another friend at a later time.
The introduction of the collaborative collections feature is expected to enhance user engagement and strengthen connections among friends on the platform. Instagram’s ongoing efforts to introduce new features demonstrate the company’s commitment to providing users with innovative tools to connect with others and share their interests.
