Instagram Introduces New Features; Changes Algorithm to Prioritise Original Content First

Instagram is changing its algorithm to start highlighting original content made by creators first. Adam Mosseri, the company head, made the announcement via Twitter and said that the modifications are in place because creators are “incredibly important to Instagram's future”. The other features include a wider rollout of Product tags and the modification of Enhanced tags where the bio category will show up when users are tagged in a picture/video. Instagram had recently rolled out an option for users to create and donate to fundraisers through reels.

Talking about the ranking change, Mosseri said that the change is specifically focused on the idea of originality. “If you create something from scratch, you should get more credit than if you are resharing something that you found from someone else. We're going to do more to try and value original content more, particularly compared to reposted content”, he said.

The Product tags feature has been available on Instagram for some time now. Instagram is rolling out the feature for every user now. Users will now have option to tag a product and drive traffic to the business or creator of the particular product. Mosseri didn't specify if the users stand to earn a commission via the Product tags feature.

The Enhanced tags modifies how normal tags show up on a post. If the users have designated a category for themselves on their Instagram bio, the category will show up along with name in the tags.

Instagram recently rolled out an option for users to create and donate to fundraisers through reels. This feature will be available in more than 30 countries, and users can donate to more than 1.5 million nonprofits available to them. Meta has announced this feature as part of celebrations for the upcoming Earth Day and the company says that they want the consumers to check out a few ways to take action against climate change, on this occasion.