Instagram’s status update now includes what song you’re listening to

Instagram is adding more features to Notes, the text-based updates reminiscent of AIM away messages and statuses.

Now, users will be able to attach a 30-second clip of a song to their status update, along with a short caption next to the track. Friends can then tap into the song to listen to the snippet. Instagram is also adding a translation button below Notes for posts in other languages.

First introduced in December, Notes are part-Twitter and part-away message. With a 60-character limit, the feature is meant to be an ever-changing status that’s smaller than a post on the grid or even on Stories. The addition of music feels like a throwback to AIM away messages but revamped: now, you can link and share the song you’re listening to instead of just posting the title and artist.

I personally have never shared a Note with my friends, and adoption within my social circles has so far been extremely limited. The kids, apparently, like it — teens are posting Notes at 10 times the rate other users are, according to Instagram. Now, they can actually show friends their favorite song of the moment instead of just ~*~* typing lyrics like this *~*~.

Notes are only one small part of a new approach Instagram is taking, investing in text-based products that could compete with platforms like Twitter. Last month, leaked images showed what Instagram’s Twitter-like app that’s still under development could look like. And last week, Meta employees got an early look at the app that’s meant to be “[Meta’s] response to Twitter.” Internal documents obtained by The Verge show text posts with replies and threads, much like Twitter.

“We’ve been hearing from creators and public figures who are interested in having a platform that is sanely run, that they believe that they can trust and rely upon for distribution,” chief product officer Chris Cox told Meta employees. The company is in talks to get celebrities like Oprah and the Dalai Lama to use the new text app — but let’s start with cryptic and moody status updates a la AIM first.