Facebook-owned photo/video sharing social network Instagram keeps testing new features to better serve its users, and of course, to stay competitive. We recently reported that Instagram has started testing recommended posts in Feed again, and now, a latest report states that Instagram has started testing college community groups.
According to a report by CNBC, Instagram has started testing college community groups that are intended to help students connect with other students of their university. Users are being prompted by Instagram to join the community of their college and connect with other students.
Once a user opts in, his university and graduating year that have been selected by him from the pre-determined options are added to the profile. These details are then accessible to all the other students in class-based lists who too have joined the community, including the user himself.
After joining the community, students can DM each other and can also see the Stories that have been shared publicly. The report further states that Instagram verifies the students using the information that’s been shared by people about their university, the connections they have, and, the accounts they follow.
Having said that, the college communities are only for current students, but, a CNBC reporter was able to join a community for the college he studied in by registering as a current student even when he wasn’t. Instagram has confirmed that this new feature is in the early phase and that there are tools to report inappropriate usage. There’s no word on when this feature will be rolled out to all the users.
