Instagram loves to secretly test new features on some of its users and get feedback before deciding on whether it should roll them out for everyone.
But over the last few weeks, the company added a new commenting feature that you won't see unless you look at a post for more than five seconds.
Before you go ahead and try it, make sure you update the app to the latest version.
Once you've done that, go to your Instagram feed and scroll down to a post. Wait five seconds and you'll should see an "Add a comment..." box appear, like so:
Image: screenshot: raymond wong/mashable
Instagram confirmed to Mashable it quietly rolled out the feature over the last few weeks. A company spokesperson said it doesn't always announce smaller feature updates.
The feature is indeed small, but it's clear the app is now subtly nudging users to comment in a possible attempt to further boost engagement with posts.
I can tell you from my own personal experience that I almost never comment on Instagram posts. I like posts and archive them into a collection, but commenting on Instagram (especially a really popular account with hundreds or thousands of comments) feels like a waste of time.
I've only started noticing the feature this past week and I already feel tempted to comment more. I guess the feature is working.
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