Instagram rolls out new feature that allows you to add people more easily than before

Instagram has rolled out a new feature that allows you to add contacts via a QR code. The feature will allow you to add people more easily than before and comes just a month after Facebook had added the same on WhatsApp. It has now started the phase-wise roll out of QR codes on Instagram. Aside from WhatsApp, it follows similar moves from apps like Messenger and Snapchat, which originated the concept.  

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Instagram has come up with a feature like this. In 2018, it had launched a feature called ‘Nametags‘ which worked much the same as scanning a QR code. The difference is that Instagram‘s new QR codes can be scanned by any camera app which supports generic QR codes.  

That removes a lot of the hassle of the Nametags, which could only be accessed via several taps on the Instagram app itself.  

The feature appears to be aimed primarily at businesses. Some restaurants have been embracing QR codes as a way to allow customers to access menus on their phone, rather than passing along a grubby physical menu that’s been touched by multiple people.  

The create your own QR code, simply go to your profile, tap the hamburger menu, and select ‘QR Code.’ It might still say ‘Nametag’ instead, but the switch should happen any time now. To scan a QR code or Nametag, simply go to your phone’s camera app and point it at the QR code; or for a more integrated experience, open Instagram‘s Story camera and point it at the figure. 

The platform has also added ‘Suggested Posts‘, which keep loading at the end of your feed, once you’re all caught up with updates from friends and other accounts you follow.