UPDATED: It seems the report below is not true. In response to request for comment from several publications, Instagram has set the record straight: No, Instagram is not testing chronological feed.
This meme kicked up somewhere and we’ve been trying to set the record straight.
Sorry folks. Much as many of us wanted this report to be true, it seems someone was simply trolling us all.
In 2016, Instagram changed the way the images of the users you are following are displayed in the app from a chronological feed, to a much-debated ‘"algorithm feed", causing a fairly heavy backlash among its user base.
The chronological feed wasn't even kept alive as an option, meaning that since this change users have had to rely on the intelligence of Instagram's algorithm instead of simply seeing posts appear in real-time. Then, adding insult to injury, Instagram recently started inserting "recommended" posts of users you're not even following into your (still algorithmic) feed.
Almost two years after the change, users are still complaining about the algorithm feed, but there are now signs Instagram might bring the chronological feed back as an option.
Resource Magazine reports that Instagram user @jackharding posted a video of his Instagram stories, showing his feed was in chronological order and including the following comment:
“Instagram back to chronological order. I wonder if this is good or bad news. "
This could simply have been coincidence, but In a follow-up story the same user revealed he is an Instagram employee, and part of a beta test of the new chronological feed. And while my own Instagram feed is still in algorithm mode, more reports about users seeing a chronological feed have since appeared on the web.
So, if you're one of the many (many, many) users who have been missing Instagram's chronological feed over the past two years, it seems there is now hope. For already-popular accounts with massive engaged followings, a move back to chronological could actually hurt their reach; however, for anyone looking to build a following on Instagram, it would level the playing field and put everyone on equal footing once again.
No word on when or even if Instagram will ultimately make this change—a beta test does not a promise make—but let us know in the comments if your Instagram feed has shifted back to chronological order, and what you think of the change.
. dpreview.com2018-3-15 21:12
