Instagram will no longer recommend accounts that share reposted content in its suggestions.
Instagram announced today in a blog post that it is updating its recommendation system. The changes will prioritize original content and help smaller accounts get more visibility.
The major change targets aggregator accounts. These accounts repost videos and photos from other users. Sometimes, they give credit to the original creators by tagging them.
However, many times, they do not acknowledge the original creator at all. This takes away attention and engagement from the person who originally made the content.
Instagram is taking action against accounts that frequently repost content without significantly altering it. The platform will stop recommending content from accounts that repost others’ work more than 10 times in 30 days. This means your Instagram Explore page or main feed won’t show content from these aggregators.
However, these accounts can be recommended again 30 days after they stop reposting such content. This change does not apply to certain publishers that Instagram recognizes as having proper licenses or permissions to reshare content, as mentioned in the blog post.
Instagram is taking further steps beyond just removing repost accounts from recommendations. Instead, they will promote the original creator’s post. This will only happen when the original post is quite new and the repost is clearly the same, based on visual and audio checks.
When an original post replaces a repost in recommendations, the creator will be notified. These changes are only for recommendations. If you follow an aggregator account, you can still see their reposts on their profile or in your feed.
Instagram will start using a label to credit the original creator. However, both the original creator and the account reposting the photo or video will have the option to remove this label.
The penalties on aggregator accounts will affect a wide range of users, not just those who steal memes or images. This could impact individuals who often share infographics from groups, celebrity fan pages, or accounts that gather inspiring pictures from various sources on Instagram.
Reposting is a common practice and there are even apps designed for it. However, users may reconsider doing this knowing that it could prevent their accounts from being featured in discovery tools.
Today, Instagram stated that it will update its recommendation system. The update includes a new ranking algorithm designed to give every creator the same opportunity to succeed.
Instagram is introducing a system to help smaller accounts get more visibility. It involves showing a piece of content to a small group of people who might like it, regardless of whether they follow the creator.
If a Reel performs well with this group, it will then be shown to a larger audience. This process repeats, potentially allowing anyone to go viral, similar to what happens on TikTok. Instagram plans to implement this change over the next few months.
For years, there has been ongoing debate about reach and engagement on Instagram as the platform has focused more on Reels and suggested content from accounts users don’t follow.
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, often appears on Threads trying to explain to unhappy creators how Instagram decides what content to show and why only a few of their followers see their posts. However, these new updates don’t directly address this issue. Instead, they seem to place even greater importance on improving recommendations in the future.
What we think?
I think Instagram’s new algorithm will really help creators who make original stuff. It might be tough for those who share other people’s work. Now, if you create something cool, you could get more people to see it.
This seems fair and could make Instagram more fun to use. It will be interesting to see if it really works and helps new creators shine.
