In the trial version, photos and videos took up the entire screen, videos played automatically aloud, and users saw a lot more ‘suggested messages’. These are posts from accounts that you don’t necessarily follow, but that Instagram’s algorithm thinks you will find interesting.
On Tuesday, Mosseri admitted in a video that the test is “not good yet”. According to him, it had been rolled out to only “a certain percentage of users”. He did indicate that he believes that users want to see more videos. “I believe that over time, more and more aspects of Instagram will become video,” Mosseri said.
In the Platformer newsletter Mosseri tells Newton that the test version will be discontinued for the next two weeks. Also, Instagram will reduce the number of “suggested posts” while it works on the algorithm.
“I’m glad we took the risk. If we don’t fail every now and then, we’re not thinking big or brave enough,” said Mosseri. “With the redesign of the Instagram feed, we notice that people are frustrated and the usage data is not good.”
It’s not the first time Kylie Jenner has reversed a redesign. In 2018, a tweet from her was the basis of a stock market crash for the parent company of Snapchat. Snap’s share then fell 6%, decreasing its market value by $1.3 billion.
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Now Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner also displeased with new Instagram update: “Stop trying to be TikTok”
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