“Turn on notifications” photo posts might be all you see in the next week.
Instagram users have been freaking out online about the new algorithmic timeline the company is planning to test. The Facebook-like algorithmic feed will replace the current reverse chronological timeline — that means that photos will appear out of place, and only the accounts users engage with the most will appear at the top.
Many popular brands, celebrities and bloggers have been posting “Turn on notifications” photo posts to get their fans to follow them in order to get alerts whenever they’ve posted new content.
Celebrities such as Kendall Jenner have also joined the discussion by saying the new timeline doesn’t make sense.
“No @Instagram! don’t fix something that isn’t broke,” the model tweeted.
The feature works similar to Facebook’s option to star friends in order to get notifications on everything they post. To turn on notifications, users have to click on the ellipses icon (top right corner) and then select “Turn On Post Notifications.”
It’s still unclear how long Instagram will test the new feed or whether it’ll give users the option to opt-out.
Kevin Systrom, Instagram’s con-founder and CEO, told The New York Times earlier this month that the new timeline will actually help users see what they most care about. On average, users miss 70% of the posts in their feeds, he said.
“What this is about is making sure that the 30% you see is the best 30% possible,” Systrom said.
However, people are still scared they’ll get less likes on their photos. For the average users, less likes will probably just hurt their ego. But for those users who make a living out of promotional posts, less likes might affect the way they get paid. Then again, those with an actual fan base are guaranteed to get follows.
Here’s how the Internet is reacting to the new update:
