Instagram to once again offer chronological feed next year

Instagram will offer users the option to view their feeds in chronological order again next year, the social media app’s chief Adam Mosseri told lawmakers Wednesday.

“We believe in more transparency and accountability and we believe in more control. That’s why we’re currently working on a version of a chronological feed that we hope to launch next year,” he said.

Instagram first introduced its algorithmically sorted feed in 2016 before updating it in 2017 to also include recommended posts from accounts that users do not follow.

Mosseri’s reveal of the return of the chronological feed came during questioning about concerns that algorithms are directing users, especially young girls, to content that ultimately harms their mental and physical health.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) in particular pressed the executive on whether the platform uses algorithms to manipulate them into using the product more.

Mosseri countered that Instagram uses suggestions to “connect people to meaningful things and protect them.”

When asked by Thune about a specific date for a chronological field rollout, Mosseri said that “right now we’re targeting the first quarter of next year.”