Have you recently noticed some changes on your Instagram feed and how your posts are now shown? Say hello to Instagram's latest release… The "Reverse Chronological" feature where the latest posts now appear on the top of your feed.
They've also introduced two new modes, "Following" and "Favourites," to offer us more control over our feed. If you choose the "Following" mode, you can now see the latest posts from all the accounts you follow in the order they were posted, which is the way most of us like our feed so we can see what's going on with our nearest and dearest, fave celebs and brands we love to follow.
As for their new "Favourites" feature, this allows users to see the latest posts from their favourite accounts. You can now add up to 50 accounts to your favourites and see all the posts from those accounts higher in your Instagram feed. This little function is awesome if you're just interested in seeing the content you love.
But and it's a big but… Instagram will continue to show you loads of suggested accounts similar to those in your favourites list, so if you see people you don't follow or don't want to follow in your suggestions, maybe the "Favourites" feature isn't for you, however, it's a big win for small businesses and brands trying to grow their Insta audience.
A quick FYI, your favourites list on Instagram is private and not visible to anyone other than you so you won't offend your friends or your mother-in-law if they are added to or removed from your favourites list.
Introducing a New User Experience
Instagram's "Following" feed is pretty cool if you want to check out the posts from the accounts you follow higher in your feed and let's be honest, we do! This might make the feed interesting for some of us, but most of us still want to see posts based on our interests.
However, nothing comes for nothing! Instagram spokesperson Seine Kim recently announced that they will add more recommendations to users' feeds based on their interests. In simple terms – your default feed will show you more and more content from similar accounts you're not following, which is exactly what people complain about in the current version of the Instagram feed. Again might not be the best case scenario for individuals, but it definitely gives small businesses and brands a chance to attract some new followers.
How to use the "Reverse Chronological" Feature
To use the "Reverse Chronological" feature to customise your feed, you need to locate the feature in the Instagram app. To find it, just tap on the Instagram logo in the top left corner of your home tab. Next, you'll see the "Following" and "Favourites" options, simply tap on the one you want.
While Instagram has come a long way since its inception as a photo-sharing platform, there is no doubt they will continue to come up with new features to try and stay ahead of the competition and we'll make sure we keep you in the loop!
