Instagram's 'On This Day' notifications are a jarring reminder of life before coronavirus

My friend Grace and I are lying on the floor, laughing, with barely an inch between us. It's the end of the first raucous night of her bachelorette weekend, one month until her wedding, scheduled for April. And, oh yeah, it's 2018 — before things like bachelorette parties and weddings were canceled for the sake of public health and the greater good.

Instagram's "On This Day" feature surfaces some of the stories and posts you published one, two, five years ago on the same date. Rolled out for stories in January 2019, it's a typically frothy product that taps into the pull of nostalgia to remind you of the good times, and, hey, maybe help you generate even more content for the social network while you're at it. It's Instagram's take on the concept popularized a decade ago by Timehop, which has also had integrations with Facebook, and which resulted in similar products in Apple Photos, Snapchat, and more.  Read more...