If you’re an avid user of Instagram, you may want to avoid updating your app.
Traditionally, Instagram has implemented a timeline style system for users to browse through the posts of the people they follow, just like other social media giants like Twitter and Facebook. However, it appears that Instagram has plans to change their timeline system into a factory line system. Even if you’ve never used Tinder before, you may want to get used to swiping left, because apparently, that’s the future of Instagram.
Users have reported that after the last Instagram update, scrolling is completely different and now instead of scrolling down, you are only able to swipe left when going through your timeline. It appears that Instagram has implemented Instagram Story navigation throughout the entire app. And users are not happy.
The change was sudden, and too big for users to handle. Scrolling through your “timeline”, is no longer fluid, and you can only “scroll” through one post at a time. With the standard timeline format, you can rapidly scroll through posts. This is very convenient for people who follow hundreds or thousands of accounts. This is also good for zipping by the Instagram ads that you have zero interest in.
Considering how big of a change this is, you would have expected more fanfare from Instagram about it. And there’s a reason there wasn’t: because it’s all apparently just a bug. In response to some criticism about the new update, Instagram Head, Adam Mosseri stated that this was simply a test and that it got out more than it was supposed to. Most, if not all users will have the regular timeline scrolling rolled back by now.
What’s weird, is that despite Mosseri’s assurance that this was just a test, others speaking in regards to the incident stated that it was a bug. Bug or stress test, given the poor reception, Instagram might want to think twice before releasing this format ever again.
