Instagram has announced that it is suspending the rollout of new features to its app following an online backlash from users, influencers, and celebrities.
Updates to Instagram are believed to be due to the growing popularity of its competitor “TikTok” which comprises videos rather than still images.
Celebrity sisters Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner also posted on social media this week urging the company to “make Instagram Instagram again” and stop trying to be like TikTok.
The slogan came from a Change.org petition that had more than 229,000 signatures as of Thursday night. “Let’s go back to our roots with Instagram and remember that the intention behind Instagram was to share photos, for Pete’s sake,” the petition reads.
Toni Tone, writer and content creator, posted how frustrated she was with the modifications and how Instagram was so much more reasonable when she received content from the people she preferred to follow.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri responded to the controversy earlier this week by posting a video on Twitter saying the features are a work in progress, testing with a small number of users. But after some backlash, he later said in a series of tweets that he wanted to “continue supporting photos.”
New features included recommended video content, styled like rival app TikTok. Meta, Instagram’s parent company, said it wants to “take the time” to get the transition right.
