After many years of complaints, Instagram has finally introduced much-needed changes to its algorithm to show users newer posts in their respective Instagram newsfeeds.
One of the biggest pet peeves users have with the app is not being able to see new posts as they're shared. For years, Instagram has tweaked its algorithm to show users posts they might like, regardless if they're freshly uploaded ones or not. Now, however, Instagram's new algorithm improvements will prevent old posts from showing up high in the feed and will give more importance to when a post is published.
That's not to say Instagram will completely disregard other factors such as when a person sees the post, and the person's relationship to the one who made the post. But the thing is, Instagram wants to make sure users don't miss the important moments.
"With these changes, your feed will feel more fresh, and you won't miss the moments you care about," writes the company in a blog post. "So if your best friend shares a selfie from her vacation in Australia, it will be waiting for you when you wake up."
Instagram Newsfeed Algorithm
When Instagram launched, its newsfeed was set up in a way that users saw whatever was posted the latest — meaning feeds were chronological in order. However, once it was acquired by Facebook in 2012, posts became sorted by other factors like, say, "the likelihood you'll be interested in the content." For Facebook, it was a move to help users discover content that it thinks is relevant to their interests. But the new algorithm was eventually the target of many complaints, with a handful of users telling Instagram and Facebook to revert to a chronological newsfeed setup.
While Instagram has no plans to bring its old algorithm back, this new feature is the next best thing users are going to get. A bummer, sure, but better than nothing.
News Feed Refresh
In addition to the algorithm tweaks, Instagram has also added a button that'll allow users to manually refresh their newsfeed as a way to prevent accidentally refreshing it. This helps users avoid being bumped to the top of their feed all of a sudden while they're scrolling. Simply tap the new button to be taken at the top of the newsfeed — or don't tap it at all to continue scrolling.
"Over the next few months, we'll be sharing more about improvements we're making to feed," Instagram says, not specifying what these updates are.
