Instagram finally ends the most vexing side of its content feed

Bryan M. Wolfe / Digital Trends

One of nan astir infuriating things astir opening a societal media app is landing connected a portion of content, and past nan app abruptly deciding to refresh nan provender earlier you are done afloat watching it. Instagram is 1 of those platforms, and truthful is X.

Well, it seems Instagram has made nan people correction and will nary longer refresh nan provender upon launching nan app, unless users physically swipe up aliases down to scroll past it. The alteration was confirmed by Instagram chief, Adam Mosseri, successful an AMA session.

It was not a bug, arsenic nan saying goes successful nan tech circles. Instead, it was a deliberate UI determination pinch immoderate method reasoning down it. According to Mosseri, nan full strategy was referred to arsenic “rug pull,” apparently a cheeky reference to nan crypto scam wherever a bad character abruptly abandons nan task aft making a bank.

Well, literate inspirations aside, it was a mediocre decision. Even Mosseri admitted to arsenic much. “It’s really annoying,” he quipped successful an update shared connected his Instagram account, discussing caller changes to nan level that users mightiness not beryllium alert of.

So why precisely did Instagram clasp specified a frustrating tactic successful nan first place? “We did that because we were trying to load contented and it was taking a while, truthful we showed you thing that was already downloaded successful nan meantime,” Mosseri said. “Generally, it’s bully for engagement.”

Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends

It seems nan determination to nix nan rug propulsion strategy for loading contented connected app motorboat really had a antagonistic impact, but Instagram yet moved ahead. “We really took a small spot of engagement deed for this, but it is simply a overmuch amended acquisition for nan mean user,” Mosseri said.

Talking astir updates, nan Meta-owned societal media level precocious launched a run to combat nan ills of integer sextortion successful business pinch nan National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). The thought is to amended young users astir nan signs of abusive intent from bad actors.

On a related note, nan institution besides added much restrictions to accounts owned by users nether nan property of 16 years. “Instagram Teen Accounts,” arsenic nan institution calls them, put guardrails connected conversations pinch strangers and besides instruction parental support to tweak nan built-in protections.

Just complete a period ago, nan institution besides highlighted tweaks to nan measurement users pass connected Instagram. Among them is nan presence of AI stickers, piggybacking connected nan advances offered by Meta AI that are now disposable crossed nan sister societal apps.

For easiness of access, Instagram users are now capable to pin up to 3 individual aliases group chats astatine nan apical of their DM section. Then location are different thoughtful features for illustration nan expertise to nonstop silent messages and view-once content, mirroring a strategy that is besides disposable connected connection platforms for illustration WhatsApp.