The new feature is being designed to allow friends to privately watch a Reel feed together
Instagram has reportedly been working on a new “Blend” feature for its social media platform, which is focused on allowing two users to be able to watch Reels together.
The first step would be to have one person invite another into the Blend
In this way, the social media platform users will be able to create a Private Reel feed that they will be able to watch together. The feed will be composed of videos that Instagram thinks will be appealing to both viewers.
The feature was first seen and reported by Alessandro Paluzzi, a reverse engineer. Blend’s development and testing was later confirmed by Meta to media such as TechCrunch and PCmag.
Screenshots shared by those who have glimpsed the Blend feature, such as Paluzzi, indicate that it will provide users with “Reels recommendations based on Reels you’ve shared with each other and your Reels interests.”
The social media platform is adding to its experiences
Using the Blend feature begins when one person invites a friend into the feature. An invitation is sent and must be accepted for it to work. The Blend is private between the two users involved.
As of the writing of this article, it had not yet been made clear whether there would be updates made to the recommendations over time as the privately shared Reels feed is viewed, or if the recommendations remain static.
Either user is able to leave the Blend at any time.
Since the Instagram social media platform already has a capability for sharing Reels with friends through Stories and even DMs, this new feature is meant to expand on that more private experience. It allows people to not only share privately so that content can be viewed at the same time, but it also allows users to discover and view new Reels together as they watch.
The new feature has not yet been rolled out as of the writing of this article. Instead, they are undergoing internal testing. As of yet, there has been no official announcement regarding when users can expect the feature to roll out publicly.