Instagram is bididng goodbye to this controversial feature of its app: the Following Tab. This means users can stop creeping on each other. The Following Tab used to allow users track what the people you follow are doing online.
The Following Tab was here before the Explore Tab and it was introduced in 2011. It was a way to see what posts other people were liking or commenting or people they were following.
The feature now sits at the Activity Feed and Instagram is trimmig the Activity Feed by pulling the plug on it.
Vishal Shah, Instagram Head of Product tells BuzzFeed that they’re cutting the cord as “People didn’t always know that their activity is surfacing. So, you have a case where it’s not serving the use case you built if for, but it’s also causing people to be surprised when their activity is showing up.”
I KNOW THAT’S WHY IT WAS SO GOOD pic.twitter.com/WfEFrYUBQc
— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) October 7, 2019
IG's retiring the "Following" tab. Hadn't used it until I read this article, then, of course, checked out what my friends have been up to…
Damn…
I have good friends. Not one skeevy dude in my feed liking/commenting on scantily clad women. Bravo amici!https://t.co/XNTMoSTQOF— Rand Fishkin (@randfish) October 7, 2019
I didn’t even know this feed existed and now I’m going to be obsessively checking it until it’s gone. https://t.co/fmPmPU8BiB
— Martin SFP Bryant (@MartinSFP) October 7, 2019
“Simplicity was the driving factor,” he adds.
Adam Mosseri who’s the head at Instagram said they’re unshipping.
Today we're removing the 'Following' tab on Instagram, which was created to help people discover new posts and accounts their friends engage with. We're always trying to stay focused and keep Instagram simple, and so we celebrate launches and 'unshipping.' https://t.co/3kqD2xqV7J
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) October 7, 2019
Users are conflicted.
Instagram had began testing removing the app earlier before and Reddit users complained about it
Starting this week, the company has started removing it from some users and the removal process should be complete within this week.
@instagram I WANT MY FOLLOWING TAB BACK!!!! FINISH THE FCKING TEST ALREADY!
— DemonHuntress (@DemonHuntress88) October 1, 2019
Thou shalt not be horny on main
No more finding out your signficant other is thirsting on other people’s posts in what is termed as micro-cheating.
Guys think they're slick, but are they familiar with the Following tab on Instagram?? 🤔
— Jacy Jordan (@jacyjordan) June 26, 2016
I’m not claiming I never creeped! https://t.co/17F6HpNpyO
— kate conger (@kateconger) October 7, 2019
Whether or not people are horny online is between them and God. To quote a wise man I know, it’s none of my business
— Dread VanVleet (@Yelix) October 7, 2019
After this week, the Activity Feed will just show you you own activity. This will include people who like your post or leave comments plus content suggestions based on the posts you’ve interacted with.
This is how it will compare.
Will Instagram save people’s relationships?
A dramatic problem 😉…:
"Instagram should really remove the Following tab. It really hurts when someone close is ignoring you but they are busy liking and following other people," said one user.— Dirk M 🌎 🌍 🌏 (@DirkMarienfeld) September 29, 2019
when hasnt the instagram "following" tab ended in heartbreak
— 𝘋𝘈𝘙𝘊𝘐𝘌 𝘞𝘐𝘓𝘋𝘌𝘙 (@333333333433333) November 25, 2016
Anything that makes you oblivious to the terrifying covert behavior of your partner is pro-monogamy so I support it https://t.co/FQMybn9RSC
— Christin Bailey (@hexprax) October 7, 2019
Users are already conflicted. Some want it not to be removed
they’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands first https://t.co/1tYJALoNrP
— mallorie skullivan 💀 (@malloriesullivn) October 7, 2019
mmm sorry how else am I meant to tell if a guy is Normal or Creepy depending on how many bikini shots he likes in a row https://t.co/RvUNkzG5MM
— Tahlia Pritchard (@Tahls) October 7, 2019
Snoopers bout to be BIG MAD! https://t.co/dCo7YTLH7E
— Marshall Harris (@mharrisonair) October 7, 2019
Honestly, same. This is why I don’t want it to go.
my favorite guilty pastime is going to my instagram following tab to see all my non-tech friends in the bike industry people and a lot of tv and podcast celebrities just hard faving bubble butts all day like no one is watching https://t.co/hdTgXogexy
— Matt Haughey (@mathowie) October 7, 2019
Hard relate to this tweet
this is so funny to me because my instagram experience has gone like this
me: how am i supposed to connect with new people if i can't retweet and they can't retweet?
instagrammers: oh! use the following tab.
me: weird, but i guess it makes sense. thanks
instagram: not so fast https://t.co/8LQRVMITfz— Fiora @ please cry at me about three houses (@FioraAeterna) October 7, 2019
Others are happy about it
FINALLY. This shit was always weird to me. https://t.co/eowFEquo84
— KILLFACE (@iamkillface) October 7, 2019
Bad news for the fucking weirdos who tried to cancel others based on what they liked or who they followed while completely disregarding their own creepy voyeurism https://t.co/5lqXlJdMuX
— Eric Hu (@_EricHu) October 7, 2019
Instagram is ditching the "following" tab.
Just give me a chronological feed. I didn't really care what other grown adults were liking in their spare time on there in the first place.https://t.co/j7ij1GwzwQ
— Andrien 🔜 EGLX (@EscoBlades) October 7, 2019
Looks like trade rumors will no longer be driven by Instagram likes, or at least you'll have to work a little harder to figure out which players liked each other's comments… https://t.co/iMQyOyF4i6
— Sean Highkin (@highkin) October 7, 2019
instagram is eliminating one of the last real digital portals into the subconscious of celebrities and politicians https://t.co/ooeOubFGrL
— alyssa bereznak (@alyssabereznak) October 7, 2019
My favourite meme
https://t.co/7F50I5xQVq pic.twitter.com/ZZE59lB1G3
— 👨🏻💻☕️ (@hunterwalk) October 7, 2019
passive stalking is becoming tougher and tougher due to UI metrics. https://t.co/jG5Vx30mEE
— Manan 🤦🏽♂️ (@manan) October 7, 2019
Others are more concerned
The Following activity tab on Instagram was a really useful feature for mapping social networks on a platform that provides limited monitoring capabilities for social media and extremism researchers. This is going to make Instagram research so much harder. https://t.co/L3aQrMWPSK
— Natalie Martinez (@natijomartinez) October 7, 2019
Keep up with Instagram updates here.
