Instagram officially announced back in March that it would be moving on from a chronological feed to an algorithmic one, a la Facebook. The company noted that it was getting harder than ever for users, who were now following a lot of people and brands, to keep up with everyone on their feeds, and 70 percent of the average user’s timeline was generally missed, according to the social network.
The change, the firm says, is a move to make sure that during the time that you spend on Instagram, you are shown the content you are most likely to enjoy and interact with. And the results are speaking for themselves, with the company indicating that users have been liking and commenting more since rolling out the algorithmic feed to test users (though the company did not share any hard numbers in its related post).
Today, in a separate post on the company blog, Instagram announced that it would be rolling out the full algorithmic feed network-wide throughout the next month. “With this new ordering you won’t miss your favorite band’s video after the concert, even if it took place across the world in a different time zone,” the post reads. “And no matter how many accounts you follow, you should see your best friend’s latest posts.”
As is the case whenever big changes are announced to the public, many users voiced concerns over the change, and the response in this case was largely a negative one. Many had hoped that Instagram would hear its users’ concerns and hold off on making the change.
But as confirmed today, those complaints have not deterred the company from its plans, so users must get used to life without a chronological Instagram feed.
This algorithmic change, combined with the impending addition of business profiles and related features, has ushered in a wave of change at the social network. Instagram closed its blog post by reaffirming its commitment to continuously improve the network, and over the coming months, we should see how users take to these latest changes — for better or worse.
