Instagram is finally bringing a much requested feature to their platform and wants you to know that they actually lend a ear to their users and wish to help. Well, almost. It’s not the revival of the chronological feed but the arrival of the Instagram Mute Button.
It’s understandable if you were excited for a moment there, although I still am. The Instagram Mute Button is the eliminator of nuisance and the saviour of friendships that may otherwise end up succumbing to ‘How could you unfollow me?’
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A legitimate concern for many Instagram users dealing with a dear friend, or a family member’s Instagram habits that may border on the incessant, annoying or irrelevant but also being unable to unfollow them to avoid hurt feelings or awkward confrontations.
The way the Instagram Mute Button works is fairly simple.
You can choose to Mute and Unmute any number of profiles to stop seeing their Posts and Stories on your Instagram Feed but can still visit their profile any time you choose to.
Needless to say, the user you choose to Mute will not be notified about it (Duh!)
This does leave one potentially awkward confrontation that may resemble something like this, “How come you stopped liking my Instagram posts” at which point you can choose to simply blame the Instagram algorithm.
Facebook offers a similar solution for its users to preserve relationships but alleviate the trauma of staring at posts you do not wish to plague your News Feed with.
The Instagram Mute Button will be rolled out globally over the next few weeks, and I await with open arms.