Instagram is adding two new feeds to the app, and it updates the existing home feed with more content from accounts you don’t already follow.
To balance out the additional content you haven’t opted in to see, Instagram is bringing back the chronological feed you like Just Contains content from followed accounts.
The other feed offered by Instagram is similar to Twitter Lists, in that it allows you to curate accounts from which you want to see content.
Here are more details about the updates coming to Instagram, which are said to give users more control over their experience.
Updates to the Instagram homepage feed
In an update confirmed to be coming soon, which is already available for testing for select users, the Instagram app will have three types of feeds.
The three feeds include:
- a house: This is the Instagram experience you know today where content is algorithmically ranked based on how likely you are to be interested in specific posts.
- FavoriteThis feed contains content from accounts that you want to make sure you don’t miss anything. You can choose which accounts appear in this feed, such as Twitter Lists.
- Next: This is a chronological list of posts from only the accounts you follow.
In a video posted by Instagram head Adam Mosseri, the two new feeds are previewed and details are shared regarding changes to the existing home feed.
Mosseri says these changes are being made in an effort to help people feel good about the time they spend on the app.
He believes that giving people ways to personalize their Instagram feed can create a more positive experience.
However, at the same time, the main feed will move away from the content that people have chosen.
It came as Mosseri was describing his new “follow-up” feed. He says (emphasis me):
“…the third we call ‘following’ – and it will be a chronological list of posts from accounts you only follow, because The homepage will get more and more recommendations over time. “
This is good news when it comes to content discovery, as it creates the potential for accounts to get in front of more people and build an audience.
Although it could make for a worse experience if people suddenly find out that they don’t get enough of the content they want to see when they open the Instagram app.
At least they’ll be able to quickly switch to either Favorites or Follow Feeds from their easy-to-reach drop-down menu.
As mentioned, these are already available in testing for some users. Mosseri says he hopes the full trial will begin in the first half of this year.
Source:
Test feeding changes 👀
We’ve started testing the ability to switch between three different views on your home screen (two of which give you the option to see posts in chronological order):
– a house
– Favorite
– NextWe hope to launch these soon. More is coming. ✌🏼 pic.twitter.com/9zvB85aPSp
– Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) January 5, 2022
Featured image: Camilo Concha/Shutterstock
