Instagram brings suggested posts to main feeds for users, showing content from people that they don't follow.
Instagram is launching Suggested Posts, a feature that will allow users to view updates at the end of their feed from accounts they do not follow. The photo and video sharing app has managed to keep users for longer, by displaying updates from accounts that have content related to those they follow or posts they like and save. Up until now, users have been displayed a "You 're All Caught Up" message to notify them when they have scrolled from the accounts they follow through recent posts, and then they'd see the older posts they 'd already scrolled through. Now, instead, users will scroll through more posts they haven't seen based on the suggestions from Instagram, rather than people they have followed.
And until now, the feed of Instagram has been completely ensured by the choice of users and the people they follow. With the exception of sponsored ads that popped up every few posts, users had control over the content they saw on their homepage. Instagram wrote on its Help Center that after seeing all the most recent posts from the accounts they follow, users can see Suggested Posts. The Facebook-owned app said those recommendations would be focused on posts from accounts similar to those followed by users. The Suggested Posts are loaded with posts close to those that the user saves or likes to.
Once we tested out this new feature, we found the suggested posts vary from the Explore tab — while Explore takes your searches and all posts you've engaged with into consideration, Suggested posts have much more in common with the accounts you 're already following.
These posts will relate to the content people are already following, while posts on Explore tab are aimed at pointing people to adjacent, broader content. Julian Gutman, Instagram Home Head of Product, told The Verge that the key goal was to make it easier for users to go deeper into their preferences, and to see relevant content when they reach the end of the feed.
For now, only photos and videos will consist of Suggested Posts, and not Reels or IGTV snippets, Gutman said. Yet such suggestions will also include advertisements.
This move would seem to be a way of getting people to spend more time on Instagram. It contrasts with the approach taken two years ago by Instagram when it allowed users to use applications to learn more about the time spent on the site. This also introduced Your Activity, a function that helped monitor the app's time spent, enabling users to set daily used time limits. But Gutman said the product was not created to keep people glued to their screens.
The "You 're All Caught Up" message was released in July 2018 to avoid users from constantly scrolling through Instagram. The Suggested Posts would make Instagram a little more similar to TikTok by offering users a continuous stream of content.
If you are not interested in a suggested article, simply tap the Menu button above the article and press Not Interested to let the app know. Instagram said the feed would display these same responses in their future suggestions. You can also tap View Older Posts to see past posts from the accounts that you are following. But Instagram says you won't be able to hide Suggested Posts.
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