Instagram co-founders launch news app Artifact to the public

The personalized news app now has new tools to help personalize user experience, visualize reading history, and see what’s popular in the network.

Instagram’s co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have opened the doors to their personalized news app, Artifact. 

Last month, the app was launched with a waitlist, but now anyone on iOS or Android can download and try it for themselves.

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The app now includes new tools to help personalize user experience, visualize reading history, and see what’s popular in the network. 

See popular articles

Users will be able to connect their contacts and see articles that are popular in their network. They will start seeing these articles with a special badge when they’ve been read by at least several people in the contacts.

Visualize reading history 

After users read 10 articles, they will start seeing stats on what they read the most from their profile. The top categories, publishers and topics will be visible and updated. 

Personalization

They will also be able to see a thumbs-down icon on article pages. The app will show fewer articles to those who tap the icon and give feedback. 

Users won’t need a phone number to use Artifact. They can simply select their favourite interests as per their preferences. However, adding a phone number allows users to log in across devices or regain access if they get a new phone.