Gird Your Loins, Instagram Says More Videos Are Coming

Raise your hand if your Instagram feed seems to have a mind of its own lately. If you’ve noticed some changes over the past few months, especially a major shift to video content on your IG feed, you’re not alone. You’re also not the only one who isn’t exactly hype about it. The Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, took to the platform in a July 26 video to address concerns and changes to the app. His announcement about Instagram videos confirms major feed changes are coming — and you might not be pleased about it. Here are all the updates Mosseri dished on in his announcement.

The photo-sharing app has become increasingly more video-focused in its content, and people are pointing out its similarities to TikTok. Even Kylie Jenner, the second most-followed person on Instagram with 361 million followers, wants Instagram to stop trying to be like TikTok. Jenner and Kim Kardashian both shared an Instagram post from photographer Tati Bruening (@illumitati) on their IG Story. The post that now has over 2 million likes reads, “Make Instagram Instagram again (stop trying to be TikTok I just want to see cute photos of my friends.) Sincerely, Everyone).” Jenner added “PLEASEEEEEEE” to her story, pleading for the app to go back to the way it was.

In her post, Bruening shared, “I’m starting a movement. Let’s bring back the old Instagram.” She also started a Change.org petition that has nearly 200,000 signatures as of July 27. It’s clear that some people on the platform crave more photos and less videos. Unfortunately, Mosseri had just about the opposite of that message in his slew of updates on Tuesday.

The Deal With Videos On Instagram

It’s no secret that Mosseri knows there are concerns over the shift from photo to video. He said in the video that Instagram will “continue to support photos” because “it’s a part of [its] heritage.” He said, “I love photos, I know a lot of you out there love photos too.” So, he gets it (kind of).

Having said that, he doled out some harsh truths: “I need to be honest. I do believe that more and more of Instagram is going to become video over time. We see this even if we change nothing,” Mosseri said in the video. When looking at what people share, like, view, and consume on Instagram, he said “that’s shifting more and more to video over time.”

“We’re going to have to lean into that shift while continuing to support photos,” Mosseri said.

Um, so yeah, videos are still gonna keep popping up in your scroll, even when you don’t want them to — and that’s coming from the man at the top.

Instagram Pauses Test With Feed Layout

More videos aren’t all that’s on the testing menu. Instagram was testing full-screen feeds that enlarged your feed to a 9:16 ratio that was intended to make the Instagram experience more immersive. Basically, the content would take up your entire screen like TikTok does.

Mosseri said in the July 26 video, “It’s a test to a few percentage of people out there, and the idea is that a more full-screen experience, not only for videos but for photos, might be a more fun and engaging experience.” He added that “it’s not yet good” and they will “have to get it to a good place” before introducing it to the entire Instagram user base. Well, just a few days after that, on July 29, Mosseri took to his IG Stories to let users know the company scrapped the test entirely. “We turned off the full screen design test,” he said in his July 29 Story. “Based on our findings and community feedback, we’re pausing the full-screen test on Instagram so we can explore other options,” a Meta spokesperson told Elite Daily in an Aug. 1 email.

How To Get Chronological Instagram Feeds

With all the changes, how can you get back to the good ol’ days? ICYMI, there is a way to get your chronological feed back, sort of. Instagram’s new feed options, Following and Favorites, gives you the option to have a chronological feed.

Mosseri said the Following feed is one option to avoid seeing Recommendations, or accounts that you don’t follow. Instagram has been pushing Recommendations to your feed “to help you discover new and interesting things on Instagram that you may not know even existed.” The idea is to suggest posts that Instagram thinks you will like based on your Instagram usage.

If that’s not your cup of tea, the IG top brass said, “You can ‘X’ out a Recommendation. You can even snooze all Recommendations for up to a month,” Mosseri said. But for the most part, Recommendations are here to stay. According to Mosseri, “It’s one of the most effective and important ways to help creators reach more people.” But, if you’re only it for the good-good content from your crew, you can opt out of these recs from the IG algorithm.

Appeasing even more IG users on July 29, Mosseri shared that there would be fewer Recommendations as well. A Meta spokesperson told Elite Daily in an Aug. 1 email, “We're temporarily decreasing the number of recommendations you see in your feed so we can improve the quality of your experience.” Addressing the many changes recently (some of which were reversed), the spokesperson added, “We recognize that changes to the app can be an adjustment, and while we believe that Instagram needs to evolve as the world changes, we want to take the time to make sure we get this right.”

Despite videos not seeing too much love — Mosseri’s July 26 video was filled with plenty of comments from creators saying they don’t love producing video but they have to stay relevant on the app — it seems Instagram is forging ahead with them anyway. This may not be your favorite bit of info you hear this week, but at least some of the other changes are being paused for now. Take what you can get, right? If you want to curate your IG experience, try popping over to the Following or Favorites feed (and maybe give your friends a PSA that you only want to see their videos in Stories).