Instagram Updates for August 2025: What You Need to Know for Your Brand
Instagram is constantly evolving, and with these August 2025 updates, the platform is offering even more opportunities for businesses to increase engagement, track performance, and connect with their audience. Here’s a breakdown of what’s new and how these updates can help your business stand out on the platform.
1. Engagement Insights: Carousels and Reels
Instagram now provides deeper engagement insights for both carousels and Reels. For carousels, you can see exactly which slide got the most likes, allowing you to pinpoint which parts of your post are driving engagement. Similarly, with Reels, you can track the exact moment someone liked your video, helping you identify which sections captured the most attention. This information enables you to refine your content strategy, whether that’s reordering your carousel slides or focusing on the most engaging moments in your Reels, to create more content that resonates with your audience and boosts engagement.
2. Top Follower Drivers
In the Followers section of your insights, there’s now a new metric that shows you which specific posts are driving the most follower growth. This helps you figure out what types of content are helping you build your audience. By identifying your top-performing posts, you can focus on creating more content that attracts new followers.
3. Post Level Demographics
Instagram now gives you demographic data for each individual post, rather than just for your followers as a whole. You can now see the age, gender, and country of the people engaging with each post. This means you can target your content more effectively and make sure you’re reaching the right people with each post.
4. Linking Reels: Organising Related Content
Instagram now allows you to link multiple Reels together. Whether it’s a follow-up to a previous video or part of a larger series, this new feature helps you organise your related content. You can link a Reel either when publishing or by clicking the three dots on an already-published post to select the "Link a Reel" option. This makes it easier for users to navigate your content and for businesses to create series that drive deeper engagement.
5. Repost Feature: Share Content with Ease
Instagram has rolled out a native repost feature, making it easy for users to share someone else’s content directly to their feed. This content will also appear in a “Reposts” tab on your profile, and the engagement will be credited to the original content creator. Reposts help expand your content’s reach, allowing businesses to connect with new audiences and leverage social proof. You can also add a "thought" when reposting to share your own commentary or reactions to the content.
6. Auto-Scroll for Posts (In Testing)
Instagram is testing a new auto-scroll feature that lets your feed scroll automatically. While this is still in testing for some users, it will make browsing Instagram a smoother, more seamless experience. Keep an eye on this as it could change how users engage with your content in the future.
7. Share Reel Draft Previews
Instagram now lets you send a preview of your Reel draft via DM for feedback before posting. This feature is perfect for getting input from colleagues, collaborators, or even securing client approvals. It ensures your content is polished and aligned with expectations, giving you the confidence to hit "publish" knowing it’s on point.
8. Upload Drafts from the Edits App
If you use the Edits app for video creation, you can now upload your drafts directly to Instagram. This makes it easier to work across platforms and streamline your content creation process. Instagram is currently pushing Reels created with the Edits app for a limited time, offering them more visibility and reach. However, note that you cannot duplicate drafts from the Edits app.
9. Warning on Looping Short Videos
Instagram is cracking down on videos that loop excessively in order to artificially increase views. If your video tries to trick users into watching it multiple times, Instagram may flag it. This effort is to make sure content remains engaging and authentic, not manipulative.
10. Trial Reels Limit
Instagram is testing a cap on how many Reels you can post in 24 hours. Some creators have received warnings about "almost reaching the limit," with a rumoured cap of 20 Reels per day. While this hasn’t been confirmed yet, it could impact how frequently you post Reels in the future.
11. Friends Feed in the Reels Tab
A new “Friends Feed” has been added to the Reels tab, showing content that your friends have liked, commented on, or shared. This creates a more personalised discovery experience, and your content may reach beyond your followers if it resonates with someone’s friends.
12. Going Live Just Got Harder
Instagram has raised the follower requirement for live streaming. To go live, you now need at least 1,000 followers. This aligns with platforms like TikTok and YouTube, which also require creators to have a minimum number of followers to access live features.
13. "Link in Bio" Myths Debunked by Instagram CEO
Instagram’s CEO has confirmed that placing a "link in bio" will not hurt your reach. This myth has been circulating for years, but it’s officially debunked. Your link won’t affect your content’s visibility.
Final Thoughts
Instagram’s August 2025 updates bring exciting new features that will help businesses optimise content, track performance, and engage with their audience. Whether it’s Reels, carousels, reposts, or new insights, these updates provide fresh opportunities to grow your brand. By staying on top of these changes, you can fine-tune your approach, create more engaging content, and extend your brand’s reach.
If you’re unsure how to implement these updates into your Instagram strategy, get in touch. We’re here to make sure you’re getting the most out of your Instagram marketing.
