Everyone’s favorite photo sharing app is now adding a new feature that will show recommended posts on users’ feeds. This change was in development earlier this month and has since quietly gone live. Described by the Help tab by Instagram, the new feature will suggest posts based off those who have been liked by accounts you already follow.
The new section is clearly marked as “Recommended for You” just so users will not be confused as to how these posts have ended up on their feed. Three to five posts will show up under this tab at a time.
This is not the first time Instagram has introduced recommended content. The platform created the “Explore” page that is solely dedicated to pictures an algorithm gathers that should pertain to your interests. There is also a tab to see what people you follow have been liking and following.
Recommended content on a user’s feed is a big step for Instagram, the largest step since the app got rid of its chronological feed and switched it up to give users’ posts out of order. Advertisements onto one’s feed is another interjection that was big for the app. Scrolling through the home feed will now feature accounts that the user does not follow with advertisements on top of them. This will give the user a wider network of exposure which is not much different from Facebook’s new Explore feed.
Change is ongoing for Instagram in 2017: the new update also launched a feature that will allow the user to “follow hashtags” which gives the options to follow your interests, not just accounts.
The hashtag feature gives the user the option to opt out, which is something the recommended posts will not let you do.
Recommended posts lets you temporarily get rid of the feature by hitting the three dots on the right and then hitting “Hide.”
The “Recommended for You” section is not meant to displace the content you have signed up for. However, the new feature has not sat well with a lot of Instagram users.
No Instagram I don't want "recommended posts" on my feed. I follow the accounts I follow for a reason. CyA.
— bella (@bellaabrookss1) December 27, 2017
If I wanted to see recommended, I would go to the recommended page. GET OFF MY TIMELINE. THIS IS WHY I NEVER USE YOU. IM LOOKING AT YOU, @instagram!!! ?clear up my feed. Go back to a chronological timeline PLEASE. #overit
— LAURA (@ThtLauraPerson) December 26, 2017
Features such as these are always risky for social media apps, and it is hard to predict what users will approve of or despise. Instagram definitely took a leap with the recommended posts feature, and we shall see what will come in the new year.
