For Valentine's Day, Instagram launched two new features

Users of Instagram who include Valentine's Day-related keywords or emojis in their Notes can activate an animated "exploding heart/emoji" in their direct messages.

A number of new features that Instagram has unveiled aim to improve the Valentine's Day mood this year. The social media behemoth revealed in a recent press release that it has added distinctive components to its Notes and Stories sections. With the goal of encouraging relationships and innovation, these updates will hold users' attention for the next two days, starting on February 14.

Instagram users who include Valentine's Day-related terms or emojis in their Notes can now access an "exploding heart/emoji" animation within their Direct Message (DM) inbox. A cascade of hearts is triggered by a button click or a friendly tap on a Note including lines like "Happy Valentine's Day," "Happy vday," "Vday," or any other heart emoji, adding a wonderful touch to the direct message experience.

Instagram's second Valentine's Day release enhances the feature set of Instagram Stories. Using the @mention sticker to mention another account now activates floating hearts, which improves the aesthetic appeal of users' narratives. Instagram stated in a press release that it plans to turn Stories into a platform for love stories. When users interact with @mentions in their Stories, their visual storytelling will become more intricate with floating hearts. To further enhance the romantic vibe of Instagram, the @mention sticker in the Stories sticker tray gets a "hearty" makeover.