Instagram's latest algorithm tweak will 'value original content more'

Another day, another change to Instagram’s algorithm. The app is tweaking the way it ranks content in order to “value original content more,” according to Instagram Head Adam Mosseri.

Mosseri called out the update in a video on Twitter, saying the change was aligned with Meta’s broader goal of empowering creators. “If you create something from scratch, you should get more credit than if you are reshaping something that you found from someone else,” he said. “We're going to do more to try and value original content more particularly compared to reposted content.”

In follow-up comments, he added that Instagram already tries to prioritize original content, but that “it’s becoming increasingly important that [we] don’t overvalue aggregators.” It’s not clear how effective this change will be or what its impact will be. Mosseri said that the company does its best to “predict” whether a given photo or video is original, but they “can’t know for sure.”

The move comes as Instagram has taken other steps to incentivize creators to post original content on its platform first, rather than re-sharing clips from TikTok and other apps. But the latest change also seems to be geared toward discouraging accounts that simply aggregate and distribute popular memes and other re-posted content.

It also reflects just how much Instagram’s feed has changed over the last year. The company has been steadily inserting more and more recommendations from accounts users don’t already follow into their feeds.At the same time, the company has been forced to reckon with the fact that many creators have long been suspicious of how the app ranks content. Instagram’s in-app recommendations have also come under fire from lawmakers who have raised concerns of teen mental health and other safety issues. 

But those who dislike Instagram’s ranked feed do finally have an alternative: the company recently brought back its chronological feed, though it’s not enabled by default.