Due to online criticism from users, influencers, and celebrities, Instagram says it is stopping the launch of new features on its app.
A more extensive selection of video recommendations, akin to the competitor app TikTok, was one of the new features.
People complained about the presentation and feeds since they thought they weren’t seeing as many photographs of their friends and relatives.
The parent company of Instagram, Meta, stated that it will “take the time” to make the adjustments properly.
The rise in popularity of Instagram’s rival TikTok, where users upload and watch more videos than still images, is thought to have inspired the redesign of Instagram toward more video content. The TikTok app is the first program not owned by Meta to achieve this milestone, according to data from digital analytics firm Sensor Tower, which shows that the app has now been downloaded more than three billion times worldwide.
The test version of the updated app will be taken away within weeks, according to Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri, who spoke to The Verge.
“I’m glad we took a risk – if we’re not failing every once in a while, we’re not thinking big enough or bold enough,” he said.
“But we definitely need to take a big step back and regroup. [When] we’ve learned a lot, then we come back with some sort of new idea or iteration. So we’re going to work through that.”
In an earlier video explanation of the shift to video, Mr Mosseri stated that full-screen films will be prioritized above images.
However, in response to criticism, he tweeted repeatedly that he wished to “continue supporting photographs.”
Mr Mosseri’s Twitter video prompted a remark from American model Chrissy Teigen, who claimed that users “don’t want to produce films” and are seeing lesser interaction for images.
Reality TV stars Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner also posted on their stories a “petition” online to “Make Instagram Instagram again.”
A Meta spokesperson said:
“Based on our findings and community feedback, we’re pausing the full-screen test on Instagram so we can explore other options, and we’re temporarily decreasing the number of recommendations you see in your feed so we can improve the quality of your experience.
“We recognise that changes to the app can be an adjustment, and while we believe that Instagram needs to evolve as the world changes, we want to take the time to make sure we get this right.”