Instagram purists rejoice! Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri recently announced that the platform had gone a bit too hard with pushing video, and will look to make photos more of a focus again in 2023. Mosseri made the comment as part of his weekly Q&A series that he conducts through his personal stories.

As explained by Mosseri:

“I think we were overfocused on video in 2022 and pushed ranking too far, and basically showed too many videos and not enough photos. We’ve since balanced, so things like how often someone likes photos versus videos, and how often someone comments on photos versus videos, are roughly equal, which is a good sign that things are balanced.”

Say Cheese! 

Mosseri further notes that photos will remain a key focus for the app and that maintaining the proper balance in this respect will be key. Again, this is good news for Instagram members who have long been pushing for the app to avoid straying too far from its roots, which is something that the platform has done in the last 2 years; it certainly feels as if Instagram has pushed for video a bit too excessively. Reels may be good, but they have encroached a bit on people’s feeds, indirectly altering the app’s overall feel in various ways.

At times, it even felt like Instagram had really lost its way and had become too influenced by the latest trends. Instagram rose to fame back when still images were all the rage, with users posting their memories and compositions as a sort of interactive photo album online. When phone cameras became popular, so did Instagram.

The arrival of “Stories” changed everything. Instagram’s popularity with younger users made it the ideal choice for Meta to try and use it to blunt the growth of Snapchat, at the time. During this tussle with a potential new major competitor. Stories became a key growth focus for the app. Long story short, it worked, for a while.

Since then, Instagram has seemingly been in an identity crisis, unable to distinguish itself as either a photo-sharing app or a video-sharing one. Given the various algorithmic shifts, the app’s original focus has been largely overshadowed by Meta’s broader business push. Instagram usage has grown, but it has also become more cluttered, less focused, and increasingly less unique, which Mosseri finally took note of.

The Wrap

Nothing much to it, really. You should slowly see the number of photos creep their way ever so higher. In the end, what we’ve learned is that, on Instagram, usage dictates; even if Instagram started out with still images, if more people start using it for video, then video will become the key driver. Likewise, if Stories bring in engagement, then Instagram will focus on stories. At least for this year, engaging with more photos should help you send people more signals.