Instagram Will Shift From Chronological to Algorithm-Based Feed

Instagram today announced that it will introduce a new algorithm-based feed in the coming months, shifting from its current chronological-based feed. The move follows Twitter's announcement that it was moving to an algorithm-based feed. Instagram parent company Facebook has used an algorithm-based news feed for years.

You may be surprised to learn that people miss on average 70 percent of their feeds. As Instagram has grown, it’s become harder to keep up with all the photos and videos people share. This means you often don’t see the posts you might care about the most.

The photo sharing company says that the new feed will be re-ordered to show moments Instagram believes users will care about the most. The algorithm will largely be based on a user's relationship to the person posting and the timeliness of their post. For instance, Instagram says if a user's favorite musician posts a video from the previous night's concert or a best friend posts a picture of a puppy, the new algorithm will ensure that the user does not miss it.

Instagram stresses that, as they begin on this process, the company only wants to optimize the order of posts. All the posts in a person's news feed will still be there, but in a different order. While it's unclear exactly when in the coming months users' feeds will begin to change, the company says that it wants to take its time to "get this right" and that they'll listen to user feedback along the way. Instagram did not mention whether the new feed will be an optional feature that allows users to opt out.

Instagram can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tag: Instagram

Top Rated Comments

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Rychiar

38 months ago

ugh no one wants this. no one wanted it on FB either...

Rating: 35 Votes

Porco

38 months ago

Chronology provides context. If you jumble it up nothing really matters.

.up you really Chronology provides nothing context jumble it matters If.

Rating: 26 Votes

Dagless

38 months ago

I like reading my new info in order, thanks.

Rating: 19 Votes

AppleFan91

38 months ago

Just like how they started destroying the FB app a few years back. Not showing the most recent but showing what they think I'd like, even if it's from 4 days ago

Rating: 18 Votes

imola.zhp

38 months ago

I hate FB's algorithm, I always miss important stuff.

Rating: 10 Votes

garirry

38 months ago

Saw this coming for a long time. Many scream about it but it's great. It means not missing 70% of the pictures in your feed. Now you'll see more of the stuff from the accounts you engage with most and less of the 100 pictures a day from that one guy you never engage with but still follow anyways.

This doesn't mean you can't still view things in chronological order anymore. It only means that some of the accounts you engage with most will show up at the stop. Stop crying babies.
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Did you really believe you would sit there and go through the 1500 updates every day that the average Facebook user would see if it wasn't for the Facebook algorithm showing you more of the stuff you engage with most? Not a chance. You would have stopped using Facebook long ago when it turned into nothing but updates all day long from those same 5 people that update their status every 20 minutes.

I think it should be the responsibility of the user to unfollow people they don't like seeing their content.

Rating: 6 Votes

budselectjr

38 months ago

They really thought this was a good idea after the extreme outrage when Twitter proposed this? I will enjoy watching the death of all these companies.

Rating: 6 Votes

garirry

38 months ago

I don't use Instagram anymore, but if I was, it looks like it would be time to stop using it.

Seriously, are these companies ****ing out of their mind? NO ONE likes algorithm-based feed, except the ones that don't have enough of a brain to decide themselves what they want to see.

Rating: 6 Votes

r-m

38 months ago

Of all the features they could've brought from Facebook, they decided to go with the feature that's possibly one of the most hated thing s about Facebook?
It's the reason I use the Facebook app less, because of their insistence on shifting you back into the newsfeed if you left the app on most recent.
It'll probably be the reason I use Instagram a lot less, too.

Rating: 5 Votes