Instagram parent company Meta has been pushing the social media app further into video content in order to compete with TikTok, but many Instagram users have been unhappy with the continued focus on video.
Celebrities have spoken out against the change, and a petition to "Make Instagram Instagram Again" has garnered more than 1.7 million likes, leading Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri to share a video on Twitter explaining Instagram's plans.
Mosseri confirmed that "more and more of Instagram is going to become video over time," which he claims will happen "even if we change nothing." He said that what people share on Instagram is already shifting to videos over time, and Instagram will "have to lean into that shift while continuing to support photos."
Instagram is experimenting with a "number of different changes to the app," according to Mosseri. The full-screen version of the feed that some users are seeing is a test to a "few percentage of people." Mosseri says that Instagram is aiming to determine whether a full-screen experience for photos and videos might be "a more fun and engaging experience." If the feature ships to the rest of Instagram, it will be improved first.
Instagram users have also been unhappy with recommendations, which are posts that Instagram inserts into a feed based on other accounts followed. Mosseri says recommendations can be snoozed for up to a month, but Instagram is going to try to get better at recommendations because it is "one of the most effective and important ways to help creators reach more people."
Mosseri said Instagram will ultimately continue to support photos, but that the app "needs to evolve because the world is changing quickly" and Instagram has to "change along with it."
