Embarrassing Instagram change shows your friends the videos you’ve liked as fans slam ‘worst feature update ever’
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INSTAGRAM has brought in a new feature that exposes the videos you've liked to your friends - and it could result in some embarrassing interactions. You may have noticed it already as you scroll through Reels - small bubbles with your friends profile pictures, adorned with a little heart overlay in the bottom left hand corner.
![[Embarrassing Instagram change shows your friends the videos you've liked as fans slam 'worst feature update ever']](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/newspress-collage-xu0j9czpu-1737544142568.jpg?1737544634&strip=all&w=960)
These new icons show which of your friends have liked the Reel you have stumbled upon. It appears to only include your friends - so, the people you follow who follow you back, and not public figures or random accounts. The feature applies to Reels viewed in the specific Reels tab, and those found through the Explore page.
![[Instagram logo on a black background.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/NINTCHDBPICT000480253156.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
It is intended to boost engagement, encourage people to comment and share Reels as Instagram looks to fill the TikTok void with its rival now banned from US app stores. In a recent Reel, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri, said: "We want Instagram not to be just a place where creatives share their creativity, but one where people connect over that creativity - with friends, with shared interests.
"We're going to add some friends to the Reels tab, so when you go to the Reels tab you'll see a few friends in the top right. "If you tap on that pill, you'll end up on a dedicated feed of Reels that your friends have liked. "And you can seen which friends have actually liked those Reels, and if you tap on them you can start a conversation with them.".
