Instagram Experiments with ‘Picks’ to Connect Friends Through Shared Interests in Movies, Music, and More

Instagram is quietly working on a fresh way to get users talking — and it’s all about shared tastes. The social media giant is developing a new feature called “Picks”, designed to match friends based on common favourites in categories like movies, TV shows, books, music, and games.

The concept is simple: you select your personal favourites, and Instagram compares them with your friends’ selections to highlight overlaps. Think of it as a mash-up between Spotify Wrapped and a friendship compatibility test, built directly into the app. The goal? To nudge people toward real conversations instead of sticking to double-taps and emoji replies.

Meta, Instagram’s parent company, confirmed to TechCrunch that Picks is still an internal prototype. The tool is in what one might call the “lab experiment” stage — far from a public release. And, like many of Instagram’s experimental features, there’s no guarantee it will ever roll out.

The first hint of its existence came from Alessandro Paluzzi, a well-known app researcher and reverse engineer famous for unearthing unreleased social media tools. Paluzzi shared screenshots showing how users could browse different categories and pick their top favorites. Those choices would then be cross-referenced with friends’ lists to reveal shared interests — perhaps opening the door to debates over the best ‘90s indie band or swapping recommendations for niche TV dramas.

The idea fits neatly with Instagram head Adam Mosseri’s vision for the platform in 2025. Back in January, Mosseri wrote: “To help people connect with friends over the things they discover on Instagram, we’re going to double down on messaging, make consuming content more interactive and social, and explore new ways to connect with friends.”

In essence, Instagram is aiming to shift from being just a content feed to becoming more like a bustling online hangout spot — a place where you share, chat, and even argue about sequels versus originals.

However, new features on Instagram often meet mixed reactions. Over the years, the app has been criticized for piling on tools, leading some users to feel it’s becoming cluttered. The recent launch of Instagram Map sparked backlash from users puzzled about why they suddenly had a new location feature they never requested.

Given its current prototype status, there’s no timeline for Picks, and there’s every chance it could join Instagram’s long list of “features that never were.” Meta regularly experiments with concepts that never make it past the testing phase.

Still, for users who enjoy personality quizzes or discovering unexpected common ground with friends, Picks has the potential to become an engaging new way to interact. Whether it turns into the next Stories-style success or fades quietly into the background will depend on how users respond — and whether Instagram can keep it fun without turning it into yet another ad-focused algorithm tool.