Instagram drops new Tiktok test version after user swipe

Instagram is retracing its steps and undoing some new tweaks. Last week, there was a lot of criticism about the new beta version of the app. This will display the videos in ‘full screen’, set the volume of the reels to maximum, and show more ‘recommended’ content as well as more sponsored posts. As a result, the app is increasingly geared towards Tiktok. And users weren’t happy with that. Even reality stars Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner shared a post that said,Make Instagram Instagram again“.

Those criticism reached CEO Adam Mosseri, who announced in an interview Thursday that the “full screen” function would be phased out within one to two weeks. Also, fewer “recommended” messages will be shown.

“I’m glad we took the risk. If we don’t fail now and then, we don’t think enough or we don’t dare enough,” Mosseri said in an interview. “But we definitely need to take a big step back and regroup. When we learn, we come back with a new idea. So we will work on that.

This isn’t the first time an update to a popular app has been criticized. It’s happened before on Instagram, too. But Mosseri said frustration and dismay this time appeared in the data. Obviously, people don’t like the new design.

He said this about the “recommended” posts: “You should be glad to see it. I don’t think it’s happening enough at the moment.” A step must be taken back and thus the number of recommended jobs is reduced again. Mosseri explained that reversal is not permanent. Instagram now wants to improve the algorithm first and will communicate again later.