Instagram has started testing the promised chronological feed Last month. The company has started to test the new versions of its feed, with which users can switch between chronologically and algorithmically sorted feeds, says Instagram boss Adam Mosseri.
Mosseri first announced plans to have a chronological feed in December during a Senate hearing on the effects of Instagram on the mental health of teenagers and children. The company later confirmed that it was working on two new versions of its feed, one called “Favorites” and one called “Follow”.
In his lComments, Mosseri said that Instagram will soon allow users to switch between three different feeds: home, favorites and followers. Home is similar to Instagram’s current feed, which ranks posts based on what you’re likely to be interested in, while Favorites is a special feed for the friends who matter most to you. “Follow” is a chronological feed only for accounts you follow, similar to the pre-2016 Instagram feed.
Screenshot via Twitter
“We think it is important that if you are interested you can quickly get to a chronological feed and see the latest what has been posted by the accounts you follow,” Mosseri said in a video.
It is important that the “home” feed will also experience significant changes. Mosseri said the main feed would “contain more and more recommendations over time”. The company has already tested adding recommendations from untracked accounts and Reels in its main feed, so it sounds like Instagram is planning to redouble that effort. Last week, Mosseri said the company was go to “Rethink what Instagram is” in 2022 and would focus on reels and developing other tools for YouTubers.
For now, the new feed changes won’t be widespread. Mosseri said the new feed tests are “already out or will be released in the next few weeks,” with the “full experience” expected to be launched for everyone in the “first half of this year”.
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