Instagram is no longer for photographers and we need to accept that

Instagram breakup
(Image credit: Future)

"What Are Instagram Notes?" asks an email that's just appeared in my inbox from a helpful weekly newsletter of Instagram smarts. According to Later, Instagram is testing out a new notes feature that might take some of us millennials back to the days of MSN (Microsoft's messenger service from the 2000s).

But what, I'm confused. Is Instagram a messaging service or a photo sharing platform? And don't Meta Platforms (who own Instagram) already have Facebook messenger and WhatsApp? Yes, I know that messaging is a big part of the user experience on Instagram, but does it need these developments?

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Lauren Scott
Freelance contributor/former Managing Editor

Lauren is a writer, reviewer, and photographer with ten years of experience in the camera industry. She's the former Managing Editor of Digital Camera World, and previously served as Editor of Digital Photographer magazine, Technique editor for PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, and Deputy Editor of our sister publication, Digital Camera Magazine. An experienced journalist and freelance photographer, Lauren also has bylines at Tech Radar, Space.com, Canon Europe, PCGamesN, T3, Stuff, and British Airways' in-flight magazine (among others). When she's not testing gear for DCW, she's probably in the kitchen testing yet another new curry recipe or walking in the Cotswolds with her Flat-coated Retriever.