What you need to know
- Instagram is testing a change that would see Suggested Posts mixed in with content.
- 'Suggested Posts' are normally found after you've scrolled beyond new content from people you follow.
Instagram is messing with our timelines again and will soon begin testing a change that puts Suggested Posts in between posts from people we follow. Those posts normally appear at the bottom of our feeds, once we've scrolled beyond everything from people we follow.
According to a new TechCrunch post, the change will also add a new 'Snooze' feature that will remove Suggested Posts from our feeds for 30 days. There won't be a way to disable the feature permanently, but it's a start.
Suggested Posts are normally posts chosen by Instagram's algorithm but this change will add an option for users to offer up their interests to allow Instagram to make better decisions about what it shows them.
The Suggested Posts expansion will be accompanied by a way for users to shape what they see through managing their interests — stuff like cats, makeup or basketball. If you've seen enough cats, you can toggle that interest off or tell Instagram that you never wanted to see those damn cats to begin with when it shows you the next one.
The change is still a test and there is no guarantee that it will make its way into the feeds of everyone. Instagram will be looking for feedback from those who find themselves on the list of those testing the new Suggested Posts rollout – let's hope it listens.
Instagram is one of the best ways to lose time on your iPhone, but it isn't one of the best iPhone apps by a long shot. Changes like this won't help it in that regard unless the algorithm is very good at finding content people didn't know they wanted to see.
