You wouldn’t think that a seek bar for videos would warrant a post in this day and age. You would expect that functionality to be present from the get go since it makes sense on a platform that hosts videos. While videos make up a significant chunk of content on Instagram, the Facebook-owned company has only just started testing a seek bar for video.
Something as simple as a seek bar can change the entire user experience. There’s no way for you to go back to a specific point in a video on Instagram without having to watch the entire thing again. Similarly, you can’t skip ahead if something at that particular instance doesn’t really capture your attention.
Developer Jane Manchun Wong, known for digging into apps and finding out what new features are being developed, has now found that a seek bar is indeed being tested for the Instagram app. It works as you would expect a seek bar to function with a countdown showing up in the top right corner to show how much time has elapsed in the video.
It remains to be seen when this much needed feature will be rolled out to all users. Given that it’s being tested in the Instagram beta right now, it may arrive sooner rather than later.
Instagram is testing video seekbar pic.twitter.com/gyIZZhrh2y
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) March 27, 2019