Instagram is slated to roll out a new update in the coming months that will change how users see posts on their feed when using iOS and Android apps. In lieu of the traditional feed, which shows posts in chronological order, the photo-sharing platform will follow the footsteps of Facebook and Twitter by curating a feed using personalized algorithms.
In a blog post, the Facebook-owned social media platform reveals that its users miss roughly 70 percent of content in their feeds. Its plan to shift to personalized algorithms aims to show content that users “care about the most.” The algorithm will shift the order of images and videos based on factors such as your like and comment history, and your relationships with other users.
“If your favorite musician shares a video from last night’s concert, it will be waiting for you when you wake up, no matter how many accounts you follow or what time zone you live in,” writes Instagram on their blog. “And when your best friend posts a photo of her new puppy, you won’t miss it.”
User response to news of this change has been clear: people are not excited.
Dear @instagram, everyone wakes up, opens IG and scrolls to the last photo they saw before bed.
— Ken Earley (@kenrearley) March 15, 2016
Now what?
The thing I like BEST about @instagram is being killed. #RIPInstagram. I want to decide what I want to see not your algorithms
— Danielle Hinton (@DanielleHinton) March 16, 2016
Instagram claims it will be paying attention to what users think. “We’re going to take time to get this right and listen to your feedback along the way,” reads the blog. Someone call the company and tell them to create “lists” instead, allowing users to manually organize their feed by category (e.g. food porn, fashion, beauty, gaming, influencers, friends).
