Instagram Tweaks its Algorithm to Value Original Content More

People in front of instagram logo

In good news for photographers who post their own images, Instagram are planning to tweak its algorithm to “value original content more.”

Instagram’s head Adam Mosseri took to Twitter to explain the change and underline the social-media platform’s commitment to helping creators get the credit they deserve.

“If you create something from scratch, you should get more credit than if you are resharing something that you found from someone else,” says Mosseri.

The 39-year-old went on to explain that the social-media giant is planning to value original content over aggregators.

“Creators are incredibly important to the future of Instagram and we want to make sure that they are successful on the platform and they’re getting all the credit they deserve.”

In follow-up comments, Mosseri adds that Instagram already tries to prioritize original content but admitted that it’s difficult for the company to determine what is and what isn’t innovative work. The platform does its best to predict whether a given photo or video is original, but it “can’t know for sure.”

“If the account is an aggregator, we’ll be more likely to be able to detect that it’s not original. If it’s someone pretending to be that original creator, which is less likely but could happen, it’ll be hard for us to know,” explains Mosseri.

The move appears to be aimed at discouraging accounts that simply aggregate and distribute popular photographs, memes, and other content. It’s part of a broader strategy from parent company Meta to incentivize creators to post original content, rather than re-sharing clips from TikTok and other apps.

Changes to the Algorithm

Instagram has been greatly experimenting with its feed over the last year, such as placing more recommendations for accounts that users don’t follow.

Earlier this week, the once and no longer photo-sharing app also introduced the ability for all users to tag products in their posts. This enables any photo to act as an advertisement.

However, for anyone who dislikes Instagram’s ranked feed the app recently brought back its chronological feed. It’s not enabled by default, but users can access it by clicking on the Instagram logo at the top and tapping the “Following” button.


Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.

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