A new Instagram test would make the app even more similar to TikTok. Instagram, according to sources, is experimenting with full-screen vertical home feeds. When users launch the Instagram app, they are greeted with vertical content designed to “bring video more front and centre.” In a video uploaded on Twitter, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri confirmed the test, saying higher photographs and videos would begin to display in some feeds.
Instagram shared a snapshot of a full-screen post taking up the whole home feed, with comments, captions, likes, and other elements displayed on top of the post rather than underneath it. Though the Stories bar isn’t visible at the top of the screen in the image, Seine Kim, a Meta spokesman, says that the view displays the home feed after users begin scrolling and that Stories will be accessible at the top of their screen. Search, Reels, shopping, and a user’s own profile are still available via bottom-of-the-screen buttons. Notifications, messages, and new post features, as well as the ability to move between accounts, remain at the top.
Kim claims that still photographs and video posts will be included in the full-screen stream.
Instagram’s decision to test feeds centered on immersive video comes as no surprise. The firm has extensively promoted short-form videos to makers and consumers, providing monetary bonuses to top Reels artists. And I would appreciate it if you stopped reposting TikTok videos to the platform. Mosseri announced in late April that the platform’s ranking algorithm would be changed to favor “original” material over reposted content. In addition, the platform has been investing in creative tools in order to steal original content from its competitors: In late April, Instagram began testing Templates, which allowed creators to use common Reels formats on their own videos.
