Instagram is Testing the Return of Chronological Feeds

Instagram is testing the chronological feed it promised last month. The company has started to test the new versions of its feed, which will allow users to switch between chronological and algorithmically-sorted feeds. .

Mosseri first shared plans to bring back a chronological feed in December during a Senate hearing on impact on teens and kids’ mental health. The company confirmed that it was working on two new versions of its feed, one called “favorites,” and one called “following.”

Mosseri said that Instagram will soon allow users to toggle between three different feeds: home, favorites and following. Home will be similar to Instagram current feed, which ranks posts based on what you’re likely to be interested in, while “favorites” will be a dedicated feed for the friends you care most about. The Following option will be a chronological feed just for accounts you follow, much like Instagram default feed prior to 2016.

Mosseri said that the main feed would have more and more recommendations over time. The company has already been testing adding recommendations from non-followed accounts and Reels into its main feed, so it sounds like plans to double down on these efforts. Mosseri said the company was going to “rethink what Instagram is” in 2022, and would focus on Reels and building more tools for creators.