While not technically available to most of us yet, Instagram has recently been testing a new full-screen version of its feed in certain regions since last month. Though often never admitting to why such changes are in the works, it’s no secret that the Meta-owned platform is trying hard to imitate the same experience and features offered by its most threatening rival, Tiktok. Most apparent is its heavier emphasis on videos, rather than its most traditional form of content: photos.
And users aren’t happy with this change. So much so that the most followed influencing figures on Instagram, Kim Kardashian and her sister Kylie Jenner, have expressed their dissatisfaction with the platform’s attempt on “becoming” TikTok. Not long after, a large number of users launched an online petition under the name of “Make Instagram Instagram again.”
https://twitter.com/frankpallotta/status/1551671682233925632?s=20&t=ZN8DjT1NKYemjCQO5lVJpQ
In light of this, Instagram head Adam Mosseri recently released a video statement on Twitter to address the backlash from users. In regards to the new full-screen change, he assured that the experience is designed for both videos and photos, and insisted that it has the potential to be “a more fun, engaging experience.” Mosseri also admitted that the new feature is “not yet good” and will require more tuning before it can be rolled out to all of its users.
However, the head executive notes that the platform’s shift in focus to featuring more video-based content over photos is inevitable. “I need to be honest, I do believe that more and more of Instagram is going to become video over time,” he said. “We are going to need to evolve because the world is changing quickly and we have to change along with it.”
👋🏼 There’s a lot happening on Instagram right now.
I wanted to address a few things we’re working on to make Instagram a better experience.
Please let me know what you think 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/x1If5qrCyS
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) July 26, 2022
In addition, Mosseri also defended the rise of recommended posts on the platform, which often interjects between followed content in a user’s feed. He explained that they are the “most effective and important” approaches for creators to grow their audiences on Instagram. Users may choose to pause all recommendations for a month if they aren’t interested, he added.
Ironically, despite seemingly shrugging off most user complaints, the Instagram head ended his video by asking for more feedback. Seeing that the platform is insistent on keeping most of the changes for the sake of staying relevant and trying to pull more people away from TikTok, it is unlikely that it will ever revert back to its original focus on photo-based content.
(Source: Adam Mosseri [Twitter])
