Instagram’s leader wants you to know that the company will continue to focus on video. IN short video this morning, seemingly targeting No. 2 Instagram user Kylie Jenner, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri put it bluntly that the app will continue to move away from its photo roots.
“I have to be honest. I believe that more and more of Instagram will become video over time,” said Mosseri.
There’s a lot happening on Instagram right now.
I wanted to highlight a few things we’re working on to make Instagram a better experience.
Please let me know what you think pic.twitter.com/x1If5qrCyS
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) July 26, 2022
The app will continue to support photos, but Mosseri says the move away from them is due to user behavior. Video sharing and viewing is growing and “we’re going to have to lean into that change.”
Mosseri’s comments come a day after Jenner and her sister Kim Kardashian shared an image complaining about all the changes to the app. “Make Instagram Instagram again,” the post said. “(Stop trying to be tiktok, I just want to see cute pictures of my friends). Sincerely, everyone.” A related online petition has more than 100,000 signatures.
Instagram has been transforming rapidly in recent months as the company tries to bolster its TikTok competitor, Reels, and get users to spend more time on the app. The main feed is full of algorithmic recommendations that mix with your friends’ posts, and almost all videos will now direct you to Reels.
Of course, Instagram doesn’t they have to convert around video, but the parent company — the owner of Facebook Meta — is looking for changes that will increase users and retention. The Facebook app’s main feed is now being replaced with something similar to those Instagram changes, where it will mix more recommendations with your friends’ stuff.