After facing a very major, significant backlash from users, Instagram is now taking back some major changes as Instagram head Adam Mosseri says that tests will be wound down over the next couple of weeks. In a statement to Platformer, Mosseri said, “For the new feed designs, people are frustrated and the usage data isn’t great, So there I think that we need to take a big step back, regroup and figure out how we want to move forward.”
Also, while getting rid of the full-screen feed, the app will now reduce the level of recommended content that users see, at least temporarily. In a previous video Mosseri shared on Twitter, he said that their Full-Screen design was not yet good and needed more work before Instagram rolled it out to everyone also noting that Instagram would become more video-focused over time because that is the kind of content people are sharing these days instead of photos. He also tried to justify the prevalence of recommended posts in the app, saying that they are important to help creators build their audiences.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said around 15% of the posts people saw on Facebook and Instagram were recommended by algorithms expecting the volume of recommended posts to double over the next year or so. Instagram brought the full-screen feed and larger number of recommended posts to compete with Tiktok and to contend with the shift in interest from photos to video.
After facing any backlash from high-profile users like Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian calling on Meta to make Instagram Instagram again, The company might just stop making drastic changes to the app for now but we are sure that the company will have to change with changing users out there.