Instagram partially reverses controversial feed changes
Instagram is going to partially roll back some changes to the app’s feed. Users complain about the lack of content from friends and the proliferation of videos from accounts they don’t follow. Photos and videos also take up the entire screen.
The changes were implemented last week. Earlier this month, Instagram reported that users are seeing more photos and videos suggested by its algorithm. The content comes from various accounts, including accounts that the user does not follow. With the changes, Instagram seems to want to compete with video platform TikTok, which had crossed the mark of 3.5 billion all-time downloads in the first quarter of 2021, according to Sensor Tower.
Since then, Instagram users have been complaining about loud videos in their timeline, which are shown in full screen. The messages can be viewed one by one with swipes, just like with TikTok. In addition, it seems that content from friends and followed accounts is less visible in the user’s timeline. Photographer Tati Brueining started last Saturday a petition against the changes and wants “Instagram to be Instagram again.” The petition has now been signed more than 230,000 times and the Instagram post about the petition has more than two million likes.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri responded in an interview with Platformer on the criticism. In it he says that the changes are ‘a test’ and are therefore not yet permanent. Still, the app is going to take a big step backwards. In the next two weeks, a number of changes will be removed and reverted, Mosseri promises. For example, the app will present fewer photos and videos. The CEO does add that the reversal of the changes is temporary.
“When you discover something in your feed that you haven’t followed before, you should be happy to see it. And I don’t think that’s happening right now. So I think we should take a step back with the recommendations in the feed. We need to get better at ranking and recommending content, and when we get that done, we can grow again, I’m convinced of that,” said Mosseri.