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Instagram doubles down on adding video, admits app changes ‘not yet good’ after Kim Kardashian burn

July 27, 2022 | | Print Article

The head of Instagram admitted that changes to its app are “not yet good” while doubling down on its commitment to video after getting blasted by critics including the Kardashians for trying to compete with TikTok.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri shared a video on Twitter Tuesday attempting to explain recent changes to the social media platform after getting pummeled by critics.

Instagram is aggressively promoting its “Reels” function which is a short-video feature that appears to mimic TikTok.

Mosseri is insisting that the changes to Instagram are necessary and are here to stay but he does admit there have been problems implementing them.

“I want to be clear, we’re going to continue to support photos,” the Instagram head said. “That said, I need to be honest, I do believe more and more of Instagram is going to become video over time.”

Mosseri, 39, asserts the changes are occurring in response to user behavior.

“We have to lean into that shift while continuing to support photos,” he said justifying the changes.

The former Facebook executive explained that users whose screens were altered were part of a test group ahead of a more expansive rollout for Instagram. He believes a more full-screen experience for photos and videos “might be a more fun and engaging experience.”

“If you’re seeing a new full-screen version of the feed or you’re hearing about it, know that it is a test,” he told users.

“But I also want to be clear, it’s not yet good and we’re going to have to get it to a good place if we’re going to ship it to the rest of the Instagram community,” Mosseri remarked.

He added that “Recommendations” is a way to expand a user’s feed. People have complained that they are sick of being exposed to random strangers’ posts and only want to see their contacts’ content.

Mosseri is against that and is insisting that the “Recommendations” feed will help Instagram grow.

“It’s an effective and important way to help creators reach more people,” he claimed. “Creators are so important to the future of Instagram, and we want to make sure that they are successful and get all the credit they deserve.”

Critics are incensed over the push for video on Instagram and want it to return to its origins of simple pictures.

Kim Kardashian and her sister Kylie Jenner both pleaded with Mosseri to rethink the video angle for the platform.

“Make Instagram Instagram again,” they both posted on the platform to their millions of followers. “Stop trying to be TikTok, I just want to see cute photos of my friends.”

Model Chrissy Teigen informed the Instagram mogul, “We don’t wanna make videos Adam lol.”

“If you don’t want to make videos, it’s better not to. What I want is an Instagram that is about photos who prefer photos, and is about video for those who prefer that format,” Mosseri clapped back.

Musician and actor Simon Curtis took a swipe at Instagram as well, “There was an elegant cleanliness to instagram that has been jettisoned in favor of a convoluted flea market of disparate ideas, combined with a punitive algorithm that forces users to play by elusive rules in order to be seen by a fraction of their old follower reach.”

“It now feels like Facebook- an ugly, Frankenstein’s monster of an app, where old people go to get fed ads, be scammed, and get confused,” he continued.

One user named Matt tweeted, “instagram started forcing us to watch reels we didn’t ask for from people we don’t follow and then has the nerve to say ‘we’re prioritizing reels because that’s what people are watching!’ mf YOU FORCE US TO.”

“Enough. i love instagram because it’s instagram, not a generic social app that tries to be a third rate version of whatever 13-year-olds are using at the moment. please do not lose sight of why people use the app. i know a lot of people are working hard, but this is embarrassing,” he added.

Interior designer and HGTV star Laurie March remarked, “I wish there was room for us to just use Instagram how we want to, instead of having so much suggested stuff shoved at us. Show us photos! Not videos, unless I want them. And why do you hide our friends over *discovery*? More isn’t always more. Growth mindset ruining things.”

“It sucks right now. Stop trying to be TikTok. I don’t want to make videos,” author Roxane Gay told Instagram.

Journalist Sali Hughes angrily asked, “What is the point of following people if you’re going to be constantly force fed accounts that you don’t follow at the expense of those you do? And the tools to stop that simply don’t work. It’s now video landfill.”

A Change.org petition to “Make Instagram Instagram Again” has almost 200,000 signatures.

Meta, the parent company of Instagram, launched “Reels” in August 2020 in response to the growing dominance of TikTok in the video-sharing market.

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