I tend to use Instagram a lot. Maybe I don’t post enough in comparison to some of my friends or other companies but I do use it daily. I like using the app because it's a source of inspiration and a good way to keep in touch with some friends. And, of course, I'm not alone in this. 1 billion people use the app every month!
One of the issues I do have with the app, albeit a small one, is the caption field. Given the trend of longer captions, why does Instagram only allow you to see 4 lines of your caption at one time! 🤬 It’s really frustrating and makes it easy to make errors even when copying and pasting text. I like to review what I have written but this layout makes it really hard. I know I can post it and edit it later but seems like an extra unnecessary step.
Instagrams caption input
On the other hand, Facebook and Twitter both open up a full-sized editor. You could argue that both of these are more about messages than images, but the trend on Instagram seems to be longer captions similar to these other two social networks.
So given that the user needs to click OK anyhow to confirm the caption entered, why not make it take up the entire screen like the two examples above? When thinking about what your app will look like it's important to understand how it will be used. Then test your design with users to confirm your assumptions. In this case, I assume based on how Instagram started that it was originally designed for writing a quick and short description of the image. But now, with more users and businesses using it as a marketing tool I think its usage has changed. For better or worst, I don't know!
I’m sure with time Instagram will revamp this process as they have done with other parts of the app. I for one can’t wait for that day to come!
