Mosseri made the comment as a part of his weekly Q and A collection, performed in his IG Tales.

As per Mosseri:

“I believe we had been overfocused on video in 2022 and pushed rating too far, and mainly confirmed too many movies and never sufficient pictures. We’ve since balanced, so issues like how usually somebody likes pictures versus movies, and the way usually somebody feedback on pictures versus movies, are roughly equal, which is an effective signal that issues are balanced.”

Mosseri additional notes that pictures will stay a key focus for the app, and that sustaining the best steadiness on this respect will likely be key.

Which, as famous, is nice information for Instagram customers who’ve lengthy been pushing for the app to keep away from straying too removed from its roots. Which, over the past two years, it positively feels prefer it has, as extra video – and particularly, extra Reels – have encroached into person feeds, and adjusted the texture of the app totally, in numerous methods.

It’s truly felt, at instances, that Instagram has misplaced its manner, and grow to be too influenced by the newest tendencies, versus establishing, or sustaining its personal area of interest.

Instagram rose to recognition on the again of nonetheless photos, with customers posting their reminiscences and compositions as a form of interactive picture album on-line. The rise of Instagram coincided with the event of cellphone cameras, and as customers turned extra snap proud of their units, Instagram supplied them with a method to share their content material, which finally additionally noticed the addition of filters and easy enhancing instruments to reinforce these creations, and put extra give attention to shared moments and reminiscences.

However the arrival of Tales modified that. Instagram’s recognition with youthful customers, and visible focus, made it a great automobile for Meta to blunt the expansion of Snapchat, which it noticed as a rising competitor, and Tales shortly turned a key focus for development on the app.

And that labored. IG Tales mainly killed Snapchat’s development for a interval, and noticed Instagram utilization skyrocket. And with that, Instagram turned a brand new residence for additional experiments and options, whereas the expansion of Tales additionally triggered an even bigger shift in the direction of video – which, very similar to the expanded entry to nonetheless digital camera instruments, additionally leaned into the evolution of expertise, and the supply of video choices by way of cellular units.

Since then, nevertheless, Instagram’s seemingly been in an id disaster. Is it a photo-sharing app anymore? Is Tales the main target? Has Reels grow to be the important thing factor, or is Instagram simply making an attempt to make it that method to quash one other potential competitor?

Given the varied algorithmic shifts, the unique focus of the app has largely been overshadowed by Meta’s broader enterprise push. And whereas Instagram utilization has grown, it’s additionally grow to be extra cluttered, much less targeted, and more and more much less distinctive in its worth proposition.

Which Mosseri is conscious of, and is seemingly now trying to repair.

Does that imply that we’ll see fewer suggestions, and extra nonetheless photos in the principle feed?

I wouldn’t maintain your breath on the primary word, however you possibly can begin to see extra pictures creeping again in, as Instagram seems to be to re-align with the extra genuine, participating experiences that launched the primary iteration of the app.

However it can all be dictated by utilization. Video turned a key focus as a result of it meant extra individuals spent extra time within the app. Nonetheless photos would be the similar – if Instagram sees extra engagement and extra time spent because of exhibiting individuals extra pictures, it’ll preserve transferring down that path.

But when it finally ends up being that Reels is the important thing driver, you’ll see extra Reels.

Which feels much less distinctive, much less Instagram-like, based mostly on what it as soon as was.

However perhaps, should you have interaction with extra pictures, that can assist to ship extra alerts that folks do nonetheless like this content material, together with every little thing else.

And with the rise of extra genuine social apps like BeReal, it may very well be a key pattern to look at all year long.