Instagram is testing adding songs to profiles, but not externally (yet)
The '00s are back, folks.
Instagram is reportedly internally working on a feature that allows users to add a song to their profiles.
Developer and notable leaker Alessandro Paluzzi tweeted screenshots of the feature, which he states Instagram is currently trialling. In a comment emailed to Mashable, a spokesperson said the feature was an "internal prototype" and it's not being tested externally.
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Per Paluzzi, the feature would appear in your Instagram profile at the very bottom of your bio, underneath the links section. The developer demonstrated how this would work by adding Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" to his profile — which, let's face it, might indicate the likelihood of this feature actually being rolled out.
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Does this feature sound familiar? Well, it's just like a MySpace feature from the mid '00s.
Back when the social network was at the height of its popularity between 2005 and 2008, users could add songs to their MySpace profile.
For anyone that was a teen or twenty-something in the '00s, you'll likely remember that this feature was...kind of a big deal. Having the ability to publicly express yourself through the medium of a song choice felt completely new-fangled at the time.
I was 17 in 2005 and the pressure to pick the perfect song prompted existential crises galore. The kinds of questions you'd ask yourself when picking a song would range from: Is this band too mainstream? Am I projecting the indie aesthetic through this song? Will my crush think I'm really cool if I put this song in my profile?
Of course, the ability to add songs to profiles didn't die a death when MySpace fell out of popularity. Exclusive dating app Raya lets its users add songs to their profile so that prospective matches can peruse a dater's pics while a song of their choice plays.
As this feature isn't being externally tested, there's no certainty that Instagram will make this feature publicly available. It may never see the light of day. But, this nostalgic former teenager hopes it does.
UPDATE: Oct. 19, 2022, 12:53 p.m. CEST Updated with statement from Instagram to reflect the feature is being tested internally.
Topics Instagram Social Media
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
