Did you know that Instagram is moving away from photos in 2021?

Instagram CEO, Adam Mosseri, recently revealed information on an interesting pivot that the platform will be making in the coming months, including steering away from the previous focus on image-based sharing.

“We’re no longer a photo-sharing app,” Adam said in the video. “The number one reason people say that they use Instagram, in research, is to be entertained. So people are looking to us for that.”

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri
SOURCE: DOT DOT DOT MEDIA

Instead, Mosseri said that Instagram collected data to support the decision in that Instagram users turn to the platform for video, shopping, and messaging content. Updates have been said to start rolling out in the next couple of months. He said that much of the content on the app will begin to be tailored to those specific categories.

“What you’re going to see over the next couple of months really is us start to experiment more with the space of what we call recommendations, so showing you things in Feed that you may not be following yet,” he said.

You will have noticed that Instagram has already started implementing Reels, much like what is seen on Tick Tok, which has gained momentum and has achieved some success.

In the majority, Instagram users have had a negative response to Mosseri’s leak, “Why copy other apps instead of providing something they don’t: photo sharing?”, one user tweeted in response, “We aren’t using Instagram for the videos or the shopping! This is so unbelievably foolish. You’re actively driving users away.”

It seems Instagram might be losing its way and fighting for its identity. Would copying another application be a smart move for their current users? Would a pivot like this one sit well with those of a generation in the majority? Only time will tell. Follow @mosseri for more updates.

Video address: https://twitter.com/i/status/1410297743285829632