Kylie Jenner has shown her disapproval of Instagram's new update—potentially striking a blow to the picture-sharing platform—and inspiring others to follow.
The influencer and reality TV star boasts a staggering 360 million followers on Instagram and is a trendsetter who influences millions of social media users, so her criticism may make Instagram actually take note.
The platform has faced a backlash over its recent update which sees it resemble TikTok, a video-sharing platform, and has been pushing more Reels and fewer posts.
Jenner and her elder sister Kim Kardashian—who has 326 million followers on the platform—posted a message that read: "Make Instagram Instagram Again."
The message continued: "(Stop trying to be tiktok i just want to see cute photos of my friends). Sincerely, everyone."
A Change.org petition launched by influencer and photographer Tati Bruening attached to the post currently has more than 130,000 signatures.
"BRING BACK CHRONOLOGICAL TIMELINES!" the petition reads.
"There's no need to overcomplicate things, we just want to see when our friends post, the beauty of Instagram was that it was INSTAntaneous. Back in the dawn of the app we were all living in the moment, seeing our best moments in real time."
It adds: "STOP TRYING TO BE TIKTOK!"
Jenner's previous criticism of Snapchat in 2018 caused the shares of parent Snap to drop seven percent, resulting in its market value plummeting $1.3 billion in a week.
The 24-year-old's message to Instagram has prompted legions of other users to call out the updates and urge the platform to return to its former format via the Change.org petition.
Newsweek has asked Instagram for comment.
What is Instagram's Controversial New Update?
Instagram is owned by Meta, aka Facebook, and recent changes to the platform have seen it start to closely resemble TikTok.
The introduction of Reel, pretty much a clone of TikTok videos, have been a huge step away from Instagram's classic format.
Now the most recent updates have seen an introduction of full-screen effect on videos as well as news that nearly all new videos posted will automatically become Reels.
According to Instagram: "Since Reels offer a more immersive and entertaining way to watch and create videos on Instagram, we're bringing the full-screen experience to your video posts, too."
For users on the platform, a lot of Reels are just recycled clips posted from TikTok.
The company has made it clear that still images are not the main focus of the platform any more, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently posting: "Photos are still an important part of Instagram and we're working on ways to improve the way they show up in a full-screen Feed too."
Apart from the Reels debacle, Instagram users are complaining of not seeing content from their friends show up on their feeds anymore.
This is down to changes to the algorithm which is now pushing more "recommended" posts into our feeds which are usually from high-profile accounts or viral video creators, rather than photos posted by our actual friends.
Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri said in a statement on the updates recently: "We use a variety of algorithms, classifiers, and processes, each with its own purpose. We want to make the most of your time, and we believe that using technology to personalise your experience is the best way to do that."
Now it remains to be seen whether Jenner's resistance to the changes will see Instagram take note, or prompt a mass exodus from the platform.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
