When Instagram reached its landmark 500 million users, they also shared that 4/5 of these users actually come outside of the United States. That is why when you just do some random searches on Instagram, you’ll probably come across words that you do not understand (well, unless you’re multilingual of course). But now the photo sharing giant is about to add a new translation feature that will make it easier for those who are unilingual or at the very least bilingual to discover more new users from around the globe.
The new feature will be introduced in a month’s time and will give you a translate button, maybe kind of like what we’re seeing on Facebook. It will be able to translate captions, comments, and profile bios into the language you’ve chosen in your default settings. While of course Instagram is more of a visual social network because it deals with images and pictures, some have also used the captions section to communicate to their fans and followers.
Given that more than 80% of its user base is outside the US, then this will be a pretty handy feature for more discoverability for those who use IG to promote themselves or their products or their causes to a world outside their own. It may even lead to more online friendships since you’ll be able to understand and talk to those commenting on your post and vice versa (well, unless they’re just some spam bots, but at least now you’ll know).
Instagram has not given other details, like how many languages they will be supporting in the first rollout. The full feature should be able to reach all users by next month. We’re not sure if Dothraki or Elvish will be included in the supported languages though.
SOURCE: Instagram
