Correct. This is not a new behavior. Also, did the author check for any kind of cookie or fingerprinting? I would guess Instagram is much more likely to allow some sample viewing, and by clearing all stored data, you can get another quantity of samples. I would have tried that first before the user agent.

A more accurate title would probably be (this is conjecture) "Instagram expands loginwall to other countries, eg Brazil"

Tested with different browsers, computers, connections, even cities.

Another user here thought the post was about that scrolling limit that's in place for a few months now. That's different. I wasn't able, previous to publication, to confirm if this is happening in other countries, but here in hacker news there are more users reporting the same issue.

Im still not convinced that Instagram hasnt figured out a way to identify you and your friends, and has decided theyve used up their trial images.

But maybe you are right, maybe you are part of some kind of A/B test to see if an immediate loginwall, with no trial or sample, increases or decreases sign ups.

It's a possibility, and I shouldn't doubt Facebook's reach. Anyway, these friends and relatives I've asked for help they all have Instagram accounts and use the app regularly, always logged-in, and yet that popup showed up in their first attempt to see a picture logged off.

I would expect all those people to have a cookie or equivalent tracker saying "this person has been to instagram before"

Author here. Previously, it only happened when I was using a VPN, even if its server was in Brazil, where I live.

I also checked with friends and relatives living in another cities in Brazil. They also hit that form when trying to access photos unlogged.

Yep, this happened at least five months ago.

https://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2019/10/28/instagram-now-...

That is a different issue. What The Next Web reported is when you scroll down a bit and Instagram shows the login/register form. Now, no matter what photo or video, even if it's the first one, it asks you to login.