Instagram could be planning public Pinterest-style collections

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Ever wished Instagram was a bit more like Pinterest? You could be in luck – code discovered in Instagram for Android suggests the app is about to launch a new feature to make your collections public.

First discovered by regular tipster Jane Manchun Wong and reported by TechCrunch, the feature would let you show off a collection of pictures to the wider world.

Instagram told TechCrunch the new option isn't currently being tested – so we don't know if or when it's going to roll out, or which countries it's going to appear in at first. It does look to be on the way though.

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Collections in Instagram let you save photos privately in groups (themed around travel, cooking, friends, or whatever you like). The toggle switch that's been found would let you make one or more of those collections viewable by anyone else.

Testing, testing...

Instagram is constantly testing new features of course, and isn't shy about ripping off good ideas other people have – like the Stories concept that Snapchat introduced.

In this case it would be drawing inspiration from Pinterest, which lets users compile boards of images based around particular themes. It could also boost e-commerce activity on Instagram at the same time, making it easier to showcase groups of products for sale.

While it started as a simple photo-sharing app, Instagram has since grown to do just about everything else instead – including direct messaging.

And speaking of messaging, parent company Facebook – which smartly decided to buy Instagram nearly seven years ago – is apparently planning to integrate communication channels across Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram.

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