Instagram Rolls Out A New Creative Way For Friends To Connect While Under Isolation

You can now scroll down your timeline with your friends with Instagram’s latest launch: Co-Watching. This newest feature allows for friends on a video chat to browse through posts that one specific user has Liked or Saved, or posts recommended by Instagram itself. This new feature is part of a larger effort by Instagram and Facebook to better support their users during the coronavirus pandemic.

The app has implemented more features in order to further educate it’s users on the COVID-19 pandemic such as a new educational alert at the top of

search results to connect users with World Health Organization (WHO) resources and accurate information about the virus. Instagram has also added a shared Instagram Story featuring all posts that include the “Stay Home” sticker that they’ve created in order to further urge people to stay inside.

Instagram is also making stronger efforts to combat the spread of misinformation surrounding the coronavirus.

In a statement released on Tuesday, March 24th, Instagram explained how it would work to remove coronavirus related content and accounts from recommendations unless posted or belonging to credible health organizations.

“We will continue to prioritize safety, connecting people with accurate information, and encouraging support as the COVID-19 outbreak evolves,” the company said. 

Instagram isn’t the first social media platform to add new changes due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Just last week, Twitter began to stop users from posting misleading information about COVID-19 and false information about treatments for the virus. Also, earlier this month Facebook started to provide free advertisements to the World Health Organization in an attempt to prevent the spread of misinformation. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg spoke about the importance of using these platforms in order to better protect people against the virus.

“The goal here is to put authoritative information from organizations like the GDC and WHO in front of everyone who uses our services,” he said last week during a press call.

There are more than 201,000 cases of the coronaries around the world with a reported 8,007 deaths according to John Hopkins University. For more information on how to protect yourself and loved ones, please check out the World Health Organization website.