Instagram to become even less useful – bumping suggested posts ahead of people you actually want to see
Suggested content and people to follow on various platforms is all well and good. But show it me after Iâve looked at what I wanted to see, yeah? Well, no. Not according to Instagram who is apparently testing a new feature that puts suggested content ahead of the people you explicitly chose and want to follow.
The Verge reports that the new feature mixes suggested posts along with your regular content, sometimes ahead of photos and videos from people you follow â instead of putting them all at the end when youâve looked through the feeds from people you actually want to see.
Instagram told The Verge that the suggested feature has been very successful since it was introduced â although it feels quite similar to the âRecommended Postsâ feature introduced in 2017. So theyâre performing a whole bunch of tests, with this being one of them. But given how every other post on Instagram already seems to be an ad, this particular feature is going to dilute your viewing experience even more. But, it is just a test. For now.
They say that Instagram is also testing new controls that allow users to specify topics for the suggested posts that might appear. Youâll also have the ability to âsnoozeâ recommendations for 30 days or remove them from your feed entirely on an individual basis.
Even though you will be able to block individual posts and people from appearing on your feed, as with 2017âs Recommended Posts, you wonât be able to remove the feature entirely â assuming the feature passes its âtestâ and goes live â which such things usually do. This is going to become extremely frustrating for many users who follow very specific people for a reason and donât want or need to see randoms popping up.
The Verge seems to think that this feature is a good thing. Itâs giving users âcontrol over the algorithmâ they say. It lets people âfeel empoweredâ and âselect what they want to seeâ. Nonsense. If they were letting people select what they wanted to see, theyâd introduce features like this with an included off-switch.
I can only speak for myself, but features like this just make me even less likely to use the platform if I canât get to what I actually wanted to see quickly. The comments on The Verge article, however, seem to suggest Iâm not the only one.
[via The Verge]