Instagram is working to fix its most complained-about feature: the non-chronological feed. The app announced today that it’s “introducing changes” to give users more control over their timelines and ensure that the posts are more timely.
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But the updates won’t be sudden; the company is putting a few features in trial mode instead of doing a full algorithm overhaul. Here’s what you need to know about the somewhat-chronological changes headed to the ‘gram.
Instagram is testing a “New Posts” button.
The new feature will let users choose when they want to refresh the feed, instead of it happening automatically. Tapping the button will take you to the top of your news feed, where you’ll find freshly-posted content.
If you don’t mind the non-chronological timeline setup, then simply ignore the button, and continue on scrolling and liking pics as you please.
Newer posts may appear at the top of your feed.
Instagram adds that it’s working to “ensure that newer posts are more likely to appear first in feed”. The key words here are “more likely”. Despite the updates, the app is not reverting to a purely chronological feed.
“So if your best friend shares a selfie from her vacation in Australia, it will be waiting for you when you wake up,” Instagram’s statement says. That means that users you interact with the most might still show up non-chronologically, so you don’t “miss the moments you care about”.
The changes are in response to user backlash.
In March 2016, Instagram officially changed to a non-chronological timeline based on moments you “care about the most,” which means it prioritised posts on users’ feeds based on the people and content they interacted with most.
The downside, however, is that photos and videos that were anywhere from minutes to days old showed up on our feeds out of order. Users were not happy.
Instagram: We don’t know what users really want
Users: Chronological timeline
Instagram: Maybe new filters?
Users: Chronological timeline
Instagram: More related posts?
Users: Chronological timeline
Instagram: I guess we’ll never know— ★ S M U D G E ★ (@_sssmudge) March 12, 2018
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Now, the app is finally responding with action.
“We did this via a number of changes, including an adjustment so that very old content does not get bumped up higher in the feed,” Gabe Madway, a rep for Instagram, told The New York Times.
“Instagram’s feed ranking is powered by machine learning, which is constantly adapting and improving based on new data,” Madway added, explaining how posts are ranked based on relevance. “But this is a nice change that people should notice.”
From: Harper’s BAZAAR UK
