Instagram is adding a chronological feed to its app in Europe, one that lets you sort ALL the content you see in the newest-to-oldest order. Right now, whatever you see on the feeds — especially the Reels section— is a mix of old-new content in no particular order, by default.
At the moment, every one can tap on the Instagram logo at the top, select "Following," and see content only from accounts they follow in a timely order. But that only applies to the main feed, and not the Reels or Story feed. Europeans are getting the latter perk.
But that’s not the only boon coming the way of our European brethren. Right now, the Reels feed is a mix of content from accounts that you follow, and those that are recommended by Instagram’s algorithm based on your interests. Discovery baby!
Soon, Instagram users in Europe will have the option to see Stories and Reels ONLY from the accounts they follow. All that, in chronological order. The facility even extends to search results.
"They will also be able to view Search results based only on the words they enter, rather than personalized specifically to them based on their previous activity and personal interests,” says the company.
Meta, now do it for the rest of us, you coward!
In case you still care about Facebook, the Instagram changes described above will also be extended to Facebook. But why only for Europeans?
Well, Meta — the owner of Facebook and Instagram — is doing so to abide by the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA). Among a ton of remarkable guidelines, it wants to enhance "transparency measures for online platforms on a variety of issues, including on the algorithms used for recommending content or products to users.”
In a nutshell, users will know why they are seeing the content that is being pushed to their Instagram and Facebook feeds. More importantly, they will also have a way out from algorithms that keep them addicted to their phones by pushing a barrage of content based on each person’s behavioral profile.
Good riddance I say!