Reddit is taking a page from Instagram with a new feature that’ll surface content mainly through images, GIFs, and video.
The feature is called the Discover Tab and it’ll be available on the iOS and Android Reddit apps as a rolling feed filled with content from across the Reddit social media sphere. Look for a new compass button at the bottom of the apps. Once you switch to the tab, a bar at the top will allow you to filter the feed to select topics.
The tab may look a little jarring, especially for diehard users of the old Reddit interface, which revolves mainly around text. But in launching Discover Tab, Reddit cited feedback from users who wanted an easier way to search for new interests across the platform.
“We’re ushering in a new era of discovery on Reddit, with images and video top of mind,” said Reddit Product Director Jason Costa in the announcement.
The result is a content feed that looks and operates a lot like the Explore function on Instagram or Pinterest. The Discover Tab will surface content that Reddit’s algorithms think you’ll like based on communities you’re already part of or have visited in the past.
“For example, if a redditor subscribes to and spends a significant amount of time in football and baseball subs, Discover Tab will prompt them with other sports-related content,” Reddit said. “During initial testing, we saw one in five people join at least one new community after using the Discover Tab.”
For another way to see what’s popular on the Reddit app, switch over to the “r/popular” feed, which is available under the search bar in the homepage tab.
