Instagram co-founders' Artifact app now available to the public with social features and personalized news reading experience

Artifact allows readers to discuss news with friends, with a newly added stats feature that shows the categories readers have read.

Artifact, the personalized news app built by Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, has launched to the public with several new features, including social elements that allow users to discuss news with friends. 

The app initially required a phone number and an invite to try out, which led to around 160,000 sign-ups being placed on the waitlist. However, today the app can be used without an account or phone number. 

Artifact now offers users more visibility into their news reading habits with a newly added stats feature that shows the categories they have read, as well as publishers they have read the most. 

The app also groups reading habits more narrowly by specific topics and provides tools that allow readers to control, personalize and diversify their feed. The app can be managed through blocking or pausing publishers or selecting and unselecting general interest categories. 

Despite the difficulties of launching a news reader in the US, where it competes with tech giants' offerings, such as Google News, Apple News, and Meta's own News Feed, Systrom argues that Artifact's personalized curation based on machine learning technology makes it stand out.