Artifact, a personalized news app created Instagram's co-founders, makes it public debut

The co-founders of Instagram created Artifact, a personalized news reader, and it is now accessible to everyone without requiring registration. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the developers of Instagram, introduced their newest project last month as an invite-only experience, promising that their news app would later develop to incorporate social components, such as the ability to debate the news with friends. And with today's debut, Artifact is making a number of changes, including removing its waitlist and phone number limitations, adding the app's first social feature, and providing feedback controls to more fully customize the news reading experience. Additionally, the initial interest in Artifact was fueled by the fact that it needed a phone number and an invite to test it out when it originally debuted in January. Nevertheless, it also prevented many prospective customers from downloading the app in the near future; according to the company, the waitlist had about 160,000 sign-ups. In addition, users from outside the United States were not always able to try Artifact even with an invitation because the sign-up process required a U.S. phone number. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Image credit: TechCrunch[/caption] However, today, all of that is forgotten because Artifact will be immediately useable after its initial launch. In fact, unless you wish to register an account to migrate Artifact to a new device, you won't need to input a phone number at all. Moreover, in addition to building customer interest in the next big thing from the creators of Instagram, Systrom argued that the delay in going public was necessary since the underlying technology needs a certain amount of data and a large user base to provide the greatest experience. And after a few weeks, the company thought the app is prepared for a wider audience.

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Artifact will now provide users with greater insight into their news reading habits by displaying the categories you've read, the most recent articles you've read within those categories, as well as the publishers you've been reading the most with the launch of its new analytics feature today. But it will also help you organize your reading more specifically by subject matter. In other words, you can discover that you've read a lot on the subject "ChatGPT" in particular rather than just "tech" or "AI." Moreover, in the future, Artifact hopes to offer readers tools that would let them click a button to display more or less information on a particular subject in order to better manage, customize, and diversify their feed. To regulate their interests in the meantime, users can access settings and block or pause publishers or pick and deselect broad interest groups. On another note, because Artifact's function is more privacy-focused, it differs slightly from Twitter's Top Articles feature, which displays items popular with the individuals you follow. Additionally, the longer-term objective is to eventually add a means for users to discuss news stories directly within Artifact as part of the social experience. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1581"] Image credit: Rolling Stone[/caption] Lastly, Artifact, based in San Francisco with some remote team members, is currently self-funded to the tune of "single-digit millions" by the founders. Robby Stein, the company's head of product, and the founders are among the five Instagram veterans who work there. In addition, the company hopes to release more features this year in order to persuade customers that it has something unique to offer. Last but not the least, Android and the majority of English-speaking App Stores both provide Artifact.