Instagram is testing and rolling out features at a quick pace. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Facebook-owned photo sharing app started letting users follow Hashtags in addition to Profiles.
And now, after testing the feature with a limited number of accounts, Instagram has confirmed to TechCrunch that "Recommended Posts" are being rolled out to everybody's feed as I type this.
According to TechCrunch, the feature adds a "More Posts You Might Like" section to the bottom of your feed. But even though this feature isn't meant to replace posts by people you follow, the response from users who have had the new feature thrust upon them is. . . expected. Many took to Twitter to voice their displeasure at this latest 'indignity' perpetrated on their feeds:
Now Instagram is showing me "recommended posts"?? How about just showing me the people I'm actually following! What an idea. . .
— Boston_Biddy (@Boston_Biddy) December 28, 2017
Dear @instagram please put everything back in chronological order and stop doing the recommended posts.
Sincerely,
Everyone
— Stephen (@stephen_chacon) December 28, 2017
If @instagram’s plan is to make their app so annoying that people would pay to have a chronological feed with no ads or “recommended posts”, it’s working because I would pay for that right now.
— Adin Heller (@vesper385) December 18, 2017
All I want for Christmas is for @instagram to give me the option to disable seeing recommended posts, they
— Rachel Sutton (@_rachelsutton) December 17, 2017
Between the removal of chronological order and the introduction of recommended posts, @instagram is more noise than signal at this point.
— very expensive owl (@vxpowl) December 17, 2017
And there are plenty more where these Tweets came from. Still, just like the infamous switch from chronological order to algorithm, chances are good Instagram won't bow to the pressure or even give users an option to disable the new feature. To paraphrase Bob Dylan: the feeds, they are a' changin.
. dpreview.com2017-12-29 19:51
