Odds are with all the rumors abound this week, you've whipped yourself into an Insta-frenzy wanting to know when Instagram's algorithm is changing. If you haven't heard, the social media platform announced that it will reportedly change the way users see Instagram posts from other users — namely, it will prioritize some posts over others the same way Twitter did when it tweaked its platform a few weeks ago. A lot of users responded to this by immediately advising their follows to turn on their notifications, ensuring that they would see any new updates from their accounts. But this, in turn, has caused a lot of confusion, because the algorithm hasn't changed for everyone just yet. Update: On June 2, Instagram announced in a blog post that the Instagram feed change will be rolling out across the entire platform over the course of the month.
If you're wondering why you haven't been a part of the great rapture that is the algorithm change, you are far from alone. It turns out the feature is still in its testing phase, and is getting rolled out to select audiences right now. So what exactly can you expect when the change does hit your feed?
An Instagram spokesperson confirmed to Bustle via email this morning, "Your feed will soon order posts so that you'll see the moments we believe you care about first. As we begin, we're focusing on optimizing the order — all the posts will still be there, just in a different order ... The ordered feed will take into account a number of signals such as likes, comments, and searches, as well as the likelihood you'll be interested in the content, the timeliness of the posts, and your relationship to the person posting."
Obviously, like all big changes on social media, this has some down sides and up sides, depending on what you use your Instagram for. If you're using it solely to stalk certain people and Taylor Swift's cats (#guilty), then this is fabulous news! You'll be getting that front and center in your feed. But if you're a fledgling account relying on views from people scrolling down, you might not get as much coverage as an already established user — and vice versa, you might miss posts from newer friends.
So how can you prepare for the shift, whenever it does roll out to your account? If you're worried about missing posts from your friends, go into your Settings on Instagram and click "Turn On Notifications". If you're worried that your friends will miss your posts, you can urge them to turn on their notifications, too — lest they miss the extremely harrowing details of your super exciting Saturday.
But as of right now, we can all take a quick breather. According to the spokesperson, "This will be a gradual rollout — we'll have more to share before we launch it more broadly ... we will do extensive testing within the community to make sure we get this right, and some details will be determined during this testing period." So for now odds are you're living with the Instagram you already know and love, and by the time the rollout does get to you, it will be shiny and ready and neat. Insta-woot!
Images: Giphy, Cavan Images/Cavan/Getty Images
