[basch]

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"

[rpgbr]

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.

[basch]

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.

[rpgbr]

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.

[basch]

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