Epochal Interface Change for Instagram: Reels First, the Rest Takes a Back Seat

The evolution of social platforms continues to heavily reward video formats, pushing the major tech companies to redesign their interfaces to accommodate this global trend.

Meta is preparing to implement a very deep structural change for Instagram, giving absolute priority to short-form content.

Instagram wants to become TikTok, prioritizing videos

At the exact moment of opening the app, users will soon be greeted directly by a continuous stream of Reels. This is a sharp departure from the current setup, where the main screen hosts the Stories in the upper portion followed by a heterogeneous mix of photos and videos proposed by the algorithm.

This choice marks another move away from the simple original chronological view that characterized the social network in its early years, confirming how vertical videos are now the predominant format to keep the audience’s attention high.

The recent social media rumors, spread particularly thanks to images and recordings shared by users @howfxr and @ParthChandel50, offer an extremely close look at the test phase currently underway.

The design in progress foresees that the home page will still show the Stories pinned at the top, but the subsequent navigation immediately becomes an infinite scroll dedicated exclusively to Reels.

The rest of the traditional elements of the app, such as the inbox for private messages, the search function, Explore and the personal profile, will remain fully accessible through separate tabs.

A Tailored Content Management

To mitigate the impact of such an upheaval and offer greater control to subscribers, Mark Zuckerberg’s company is simultaneously developing a new area dedicated to customizable feeds. This new section will allow each person to filter posts according to their specific preferences and consumption habits.

For example, it will be possible to scroll only the updates from followed profiles, or narrow the view to the only “friends” category, which includes contacts with whom there is a mutual exchange of interactions.

The built-in options also include the ability to restore chronological order through the content with the most recent posts, or quickly access saved posts, favorites and system suggestions.

Special attention should be given to the filter dedicated solely to traditional posts: by turning on this option, it will be possible to view the textual and photographic content of one’s contacts, completely removing the presence of Reels.

Each user will also have the freedom to rearrange these categories as they see fit.

Release Timeline

The introduction of advanced tools for managing the news feed is not a novelty for Meta, which has already implemented very similar solutions with great success on Threads, its microblogging platform.

Currently, the company leaders have not yet announced an official date for the global release of this updated graphical interface.

It remains to be seen how the vast user base will welcome such a marked transition toward rapid entertainment, but the presence of accurate filters and customizable menus appears to be a solid strategic move to satisfy video consumers without alienating purists of photography.