Instagram Testing New Tapping Feature To Browse Images In Explore Tab

Instagram has begun testing a new way of browsing through photos on its app. Instead of scrolling the Instagram feed, users might soon be able to simply tap to see the next post.

The new Instagram feature was first discovered by TechCrunch. Instagram has confirmed that the new feature is currently only being tested in the Explore tab of the app. Users will only have to tap the left or right side of an image to skip forward and backward between posts.

“We’re always testing ways to improve the experience on Instagram and bring you closer to the people and things you love,” an Instagram spokesperson told TechCrunch in a statement. The spokesperson also said that Instagram isn’t thinking about putting this new feature to the main feed, yet.

The new navigation feature is currently only being tested with a small number of users. A screenshot of the feature was shared by Instagram user Suprateek Bose on Twitter.

The new tap to advance feature is the same type of navigation gesture that’s already being used for Instagram Stories. The new feature is intended to make it easier and faster for users to browse through posts since scrolling can get a bit tiring if a user has been doing it for a long period of time.

Instagram is no stranger to making browsing on its mobile app faster. In the Explore tab, the Videos You Might Like section already comes with a feature that automatically plays the next video when the one the user is watching has already finished. It does make a lot of sense that Instagram would find a way to make browsing images faster without relying on an auto-advance feature.

The use of tapping to skip to the next post is something that was really popularized by Snapchat, which Instagram has allegedly been copying in the last couple of years. It may not be a big deal, but the new feature does have some benefits. Tapping to view the next post means that users will always see images in full-screen. This eliminates the need to carefully scroll up or down just to see the full image, as pointed out by MacRumors.