Instagram boss Adam Mosseri has admitted that the platform’s recommendation algorithm isn’t right, after he revealed a major turnaround in recent changes to the app following massive criticism led by Kylie Jenner.
In an interview with Casey Newton for Platformer, Mosseri explained that Instagram will be phasing out some of the latest updates, including the full-screen view.
The number of recommended posts will also be temporarily reduced for one to two weeks, which was a particular disappointment to Jenner and other members of the highly influential Kardashian family.
Superuser Jenner posted on her Instagram story a petition calling to “Make Instagram Instagram again”, urging other users, fans and high-profile names to do the same and share their frustrations.
A viral tweet from popular Twitch streamer Nadeshot read: “Spiritually, Instagram is dead. Now I have 2 Tik Tok apps on my phone. And to top it all off, Tik Tok’s algorithm is far superior in serving content that I actually want to see which basically renders Instagram useless.”
Temporary changes to the algorithm
Initially, the head of Instagram took to Twitter to explain the changes in a short video, but has since admitted that analytics do show that users are unhappy, taking a step back to focus on improvement.
“When you discover something in your feed that you haven’t followed before, there has to be a high bar — it just has to be great,” Mosseri told Platformer. “You should be pleased to see him. And I don’t think that’s happening enough right now.”
Despite this, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said this week that 15% of users’ Facebook and Instagram feeds are currently suggested content, and they plan to increase that to 30% by the end of 2023.
As well as the recommendation algorithm, users have complained about the platform’s heavy emphasis on videos and Reels in an attempt to rival TikTok, and the gradual introduction of full-screen viewing.
Mosser responded: “For new delivery models, people are frustrated and the usage data is not great… So I think we need to take a big step back, regroup and figure out how we want to move forward.”
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