Instagram users are only just realizing there’s a hidden game on the app

Instagram users have been slowly discovering that Meta programmers have slid a hidden game into their DMs. 

Inspired by Atari’s 1970s classic Pong, the secret game bounces any emoji you choose at increasingly breakneck speeds for as long as your able to volley back.

‘This is actually amazing,’ said one podcaster who posted a clip documenting the moment he first learned about the game from childhood best friend.

‘Everyone probably already clicked out of this video because they’re going to try it.’  

To access the game, all you have to do is open your DMs and send a friend an emoji message. It could be anything: a ghost, a baby, a donut, a cheeseburger, or any of the myriad other tiny cartoon unicode symbols on your phone. 

The game play of the secret emoji game is simple and intuitive. 

You slide a paddle along the bottom of the screen to keep your emoji bouncing upward. Every time it bounces back it gets faster, until it finally gets passed your paddle. Then it’s ‘Game Over.’   

As the game progresses, its inviting pastel yellow screen gets darker, shift toward more intense oranges and reds as the game heats up.

TechCrunch, one of the first sites to identify the hidden game, described it as ‘reminiscent of the old-school games that would come pre-installed on your phone back in the day, like Breakout or Pong.’

An Instagram spokesperson told the site that they created and hid the game because the company is always on the lookout for new ways to make ‘Instagram feel more fun.’

Childhood best friends Brian Conz and Zach Misischia, hosts of The Makeshift Project podcast and YouTube channel, went wild trying out the game on their show.

‘Isn’t that insane,’ Misischia asked Conz after surprising him with the game on the air.

‘I’m frickin’ horrible at this game,’ Conz declared after fumbling a volley of his favorite emoji, the ‘salute’ face. ‘My thumb’s too big.’

As of right now, the hidden game works on both Apple iOS and Android phones.

But, despite this. not everyone actually has access to the game yet, based on TechCrunch’s tests. 

It may be that the game is in beta mode, or another form of software test, or is simply having a staggered rollout. 

As Instagram power users might tell you, however, the app has long had its share of helpful, game-changing secrets.

Users interested in knowing what analytics Meta’s social media platforms are using to serve them ads and tailor their feed’s algorithm will want to visit the app’s ‘Ad Topics’ nested deep within ‘Setting and activity.’

To get there from the main menu, click on the Accounts Center, where you’ll see your profiles on both Facebook and Instagram.

Then click on Ad Preferences, and from there Ad Topics, where you’ll see the short list of topics that Meta has slowly come to learn you might be interested in based on your user activity. 

You can deselect those topics that perhaps you’re see too many unhelpful or distracting ads about. 

Like the new emoji game, it’s a great way to help make Instagram ‘more fun’ — a light diversion instead of an annoying distraction.