Instagram

Instagram is a social networking service that was launched in October 2010, for people to share pictures and videos online. The service was acquired by Facebook in 2012. 

Main Features 

• Users can make their accounts public, which means anyone can see what they are posting, or private, which allows only people whose follow requests have been accepted by the user to see their posts. 
• Instagram allows users to post up to 10 pictures of videos in a single post. Under every post, there are options to like, comment (Though comments can be turned off by the poster), and share. Users can also save others’ posts privately. 
• Instagram uses hashtags to help people find posts, people, and topics easily. 
• Instagram has a feature called “stories” that allows users to post pictures and videos that will disappear in 24 hours. Users can also create a ‘close friends’ list for stories they want only certain people to see. 
• Instagram has a direct messaging function. 
• The platform has an explore tab that allows users to explore various posts from different pages as well as popular and trending posts. 
• Instagram launched IGTV which is a vertical video application that is built into the app and the website. It allows users to post videos up to 10 minutes long. 
• Instagram has a feature that allows users to host live streams to interact with their followers, they can also invite other users to join their life. 
• In 2019 Instagram launched Reels which is a feature that allows users to make short videos with existing sounds from other posts. 
  

With the growth in the popularity of the platform and social media as a whole, established companies along with small businesses and entrepreneurs use the platform not only for marketing their products but also as a platform to accept orders from customers. Instagram has also released features to cater to this such as business accounts, Instagram shopping, Instagram ads, and more.