Instagram is changing the way you search for posts on its platform. The photo and video sharing service is starting to surface relevant content when you look for posts using keywords.
Prior to this update, you could only search for hashtags or account names. It was a longtime limitation that restricted the way you discover content on Instagram since it won"t surface photos or videos that did not contain the hashtags you were trying to find, for instance.
With the latest change, you can search for content that matches your keywords regardless of whether it contains relevant hashtags or not. Instagram"s new algorithm considers various factors such as when you shared the post, the caption, and the photo or video being shown. In addition, the service relies on machine learning to surface “the highest quality content that’s relevant to you.”
There are some restrictions to the type of content you can find, however. For example, Instagram won"t let you search for terms like "QAnon" or content related to politicians like Donald Trump or Joe Biden. That said, you can still look for their profile names. Instagram noted that its new search tool is limited only to general topics and keywords that obey its community guidelines.
Source: The Verge