Instagram users can select a specific date range to search for Reels they’ve previously watched during that period.
The feature is expected to work like the Watch History feature on YouTube
Photo Credit: Pixabay/ Solen Feyissa
Instagram is rolling out a highly-requested feature, which enables users to find and revisit the Reels they have watched previously. It is expected to work similarly to the Watch History feature on YouTube. As per an Instagram official, they will be able to filter out Reels based on a specific date or date range, and even search for Reels shared by a particular account on the social media platform.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced the rollout of the Watch History feature for Reels in a post on the microblogging platform Threads. It is available in Instagram settings under the Profile tab. To access the feature, tap the three-line menu in the top-right corner of the screen and select Settings > Your activity > Watch history.
The Watch History feature will appear under the How you use Instagram tab.
While the feature's core functionality is similar to the Watch History feature on other apps, such as YouTube, it will offer more options to search for previously watched content. As per Mosseri, there are three different tabs for finding the relevant Reel. By default, it will show Reels watched by the user in the past 30 days. They can select specific Reels and remove them from their Watch history if they wish to.
Watch History feature on Android (left), UI (centre), on iOS (right)
The first tab simply lets them sort Reels from oldest to newest or newest to oldest. Meanwhile, the second tab has more options to filter previously watched content by date. It is set to All dates by default. There are other filters too, such as Past week and Past month.
In addition to these, Instagram users can also select a specific date range to search for Reels they've previously watched during that period.
There is a third tab as well, for fine-tuning the search results even further. If the user remembers the account that originally shared the Reel, they can search for it in Watch History by the author. This is possible with a new Filter by author tab.
“So, now hopefully you can find that thing that you were trying to find that you couldn't find before”.
Gadgets 360 can verify that Instagram's new Watch History feature for Reels is available on both Android and iOS devices.
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