Instagram follows Facebook in giving you posts it thinks you’ll like first

Facebook picture-sharing app Instagram said it is reshuffling feeds to display curated content that users would ‘care’ about first. The sequence of posts would be based on the likelihood of interest in the content, the user’s relationship with the person or timeliness of the post, Instagram said in a blog post. On an average, its 400 million users miss 70 percent of their feeds, Instagram added. A similar move introduced by Twitter sparked widespread anger among users.

What this is about is making sure that the 30 percent you see is the best 30 percent possible.

Instagram co-founder and chief executive Kevin Systrom

Facebook’s feed also displays content in a similar algorithmic fashion based upon user interests. The widely used photo-sharing app’s decision to move away from its time-based feed could rid it of one prime feature - showing real-time content. Technology blogger Techcrunch argues that users would have to worry about making their posts good enough to be chosen by the algorithm or their posts could be de-prioritized. Instagram said the change in the feed for users would roll out in the coming months.