Supporting Black-owned businesses over the last year has become more than a trend. Now, consumers, corporations and online platforms are turning this full-fledged surge of support into a consistent lifestyle change with more intentional ways to champion these brands. Among those who have made financial and systemic pledges most recently is Instagram, who is now making it easier for shoppers to discover and identify Black-owned businesses directly on its platform. Thanks to a new feature, U.S. -based businesses a part of Shops on Instagram will be specifically declared “Black-owned” with a display label. Over the last year, Instagram has rallied its community of users to not just acknowledge Black-owned businesses, but shop with them as well. With newly-launched features like its Reels and Shop tabs, it’s made the e-commerce space a much more fun and knowledgeable experience for both brand owners and consumers. According to a blog post from Instagram, over 1.3 million Instagram posts...

Hidden in Instagram’s messenger feature is code that allows users to co-watch videos and other content with friends, according to TechCrunch. The feature is similar to Facebook’s Watch Party code, which was also discovered by TechCrunch. Instagram’s co-watch code could have some outstanding impacts on how much time people spend on the app. Over the years, the platform has focused on more features that keep users scrolling without requiring them to actually post content. The co-watch feature also highlights some of Instagram’s moves to build communities and spend time with friends without face-to-face interactions. Other features like group and video chats have motioned the company in that direction. Like most features on Instagram, there may be a catch. Having a co-watch feature could open the door for more targeted advertisements on the platform. Ads now have a notable presence on Instagram compared to previous years. They are interwoven between Instastories, regular video and...