Instagram is rolling out pinned comments to everyone, allowing users to pin a few comments to the top of any of their posts.
Pinned comments started as a test in May.
On Tuesday, Instagram’s Vp of Product, Vishal Shah, announced on Twitter that every Instagram user can now pin up to three comments to the top of the comments section on their posts.
Today we’re rolling out pinned comments everywhere 📌
That means you can a pin a few comments to the top of your feed post. By highlighting positive comments, you can better manage the tone of the conversation. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/w2X5grdee7
— Vishal Shah (@vishalshahis) July 7, 2020
‘Pinned comments’ is one of several features that Instagram announced a few months back in an effort to reinforce positivity on the app and limit the harassment and bullying that happens in the comment section. Other features included the ability to bulk delete comments and choose who can tag and mention you on their posts.
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How to pin comments on Instagram
To access the feature, you will have to update your Instagram to the latest version. Then tap on any of your existing posts and head to the comments section. To pin a comment, simply swipe left and tap on the thumbtack icon.
You can pin up to three comments which will appear immediately under your photo or video with a “pinned” label underneath, next to the “like” and “reply” labels. These three comments will “mask” all other comments which can only be seen by tapping on “view all comments.”
You can pin and unpin a comment as many times as you want. But you should know that each user receives a notification when their comment is pinned (not when their comment is unpinned.)
Not only does this new feature help reinforce positivity on the feed, and it will also probably lead to more users writing better comments in the hope of seeing it pinned. I also have no doubt that brands will start gamifying this very soon.