Instagram To Roll Back Changes After Backlash From Kylie Jenner, Chrissy Teigen, And Other Users
For a while now, the internet has been buzzing with social media users expressing their anger towards the Meta-owned photo-sharing platform, Instagram for its new algorithm that focuses more on video content. People on Instagram and Twitter have been raging over the fact that the new updates are not only impacting the engagement but also the recommendations and the feeds. Users state that they barely get to see the pictures and posts shared by their family and friends and instead they get to see more video content and promotional content on the platform. Amid all this halla, several celebs also slammed the platform and asked Meta to “Make Instagram, Instagram Again”. And the current buzz is that the social media platform is all set to roll back the changes to return our good old Instagram to us.
The company has reportedly said that a test version of the app will be phased out over the next two weeks and the number of recommended posts on the app will also be reduced along with the improved algorithm. Instagram chief Adam Mosseri also spoke about the risks the app has been taking and said that if one isn’t failing every once in a while, they’re not thinking big or bold. He went on to add that the photosharing app will take a big step back and regroup and come back with a new idea later.
Instagram has rolled out some changes in the content and engagement algorithm in order to compete with video-sharing apps like TikTok which led to social media outrage by the users. In fact, even Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner posted memes about the same and urged the company to “Make Instagram, Instagram Again”.
Even Twitter was flooded with talks about how Instagram has changed over the years and there was severe hostility towards these changes. In order to deal with the negativity, Instagram’s Adam Mosseri posted a video on Twitter about the concerns users have about the changes that the Meta-owned platform is experimenting with. Chrissy Teigen replied to Mosseri’s tweet which soon turned into a heated conversation about Instagram. The actress pointed out the flaws in the engagement algorithm as well as the fact that she rarely gets to see the people she follows in her feeds anymore.
we don’t wanna make videos Adam lol
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) July 26, 2022
I guess for me it’s not just that I suck at making videos. It’s that I don’t see my actual friend’s posts and they don’t see mine, and I see the same people over and over and over then the feed goes “you’re all caught up!”
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) July 26, 2022
Friends post a lot more to stories and send a lot more DMs than they post to Feed. If you want to make sure you never miss a feed post from a friend, add them to your favorites and they’ll show up at the top.
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) July 26, 2022
On Wednesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the recommended posts and accounts people see in the feed are only about 15% of what people see when they browse Facebook and the percentage is higher on Instagram. He also added that the number will increase to around 30% by end of 2023. But following the backlash, Instagram has decided to TEMPORARILY reduce the recommendations. Keeping in mind that this change is only temporary, Adam Mosser said that they will roll back the recommendations while hinting that it may come back with better ranking and suggestions in order to grow. He also clarified that the change is not permanent.
Also Read: Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri Says Shift To Videos Is Permanent, Celebs And Users Unhappy With Where The App Is Going
In an exclusive interview with The Verge, Adam Mosseri spoke more about how the social media backlash helped the platform learn more about the userbase. He pointed out that all the anger people had for the company was only because of how much they love Instagram. He further added that they’re in an experimental mode right now but not everyone is ready to accept the change which is why it’s essential for the platform to explain its stance on the matter. He also revealed that his video that led to the heated exchange with Chrissy Teigen was shot the night before Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian got involved in the movement.
