Instagram is testing photo albums, because nothing is sacred anymore

Instagram is about to get a lot more like Facebook.

The app is testing a new feature that allows you to share multiple photos and/or videos in a single post. That's right: photo albums could be coming to Instagram.

The feature, which is currently live in the beta version of Instagram's Android app, allows you to select up to 10 photos and videos to combine into a single post. It's not clear what the final post would look like in the app's feed, as the beta doesn't allow you to actually share such a post, but presumably it would look like the app's "carousel" ads that allow you to swipe through multiple photos.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

To select multiple photos, all you have to do is hold down on a photo. It'll give you the option to select additional photos or videos to include from there. Here's what it looks like in action.

Via Giphy

If Instagram indeed decides to make the feature official, it could vastly change the dynamics of the app. While many users tend to heavily curate their Instagram feed with only the "best" of their photos, adding album functionality would seem to encourage users to place less emphasis on each photo.

A spokesperson for Instagram declined to comment on the feature, but such a change would seem to be in line with the company's ongoing efforts to boost sharing through efforts like Stories, live video and ephemeral, Snapchat-like messaging.

Of course, this is still just a beta feature -- at least for now -- and there's no guarantee that it will become a permanent option. But the fact that this is part of the app's official beta, and not a smaller experiment rolled out to a handful of users, suggests the company is, at the very least, seriously considering it.