Instagram’s latest algorithm tweak hates your TikTok reposts

You know those TikTok reposts you see all over Instagram? Well, it looks like the latest tweaks in Instagram’s algorithm is going to push them further down and reduce their reach.

Other than product tags announced a few days ago, Instagram has introduced a few more changes. One of them is “ranking on originality,” which should push original content rather than reposts from other social networks. Or as I see it – reposts from TikTok that Instagram’s flooded with.

Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri recently tweeted about the news tuff on the platform. One of them is the product tagging I mentioned above, as well as enhanced tags. And the third feature is what I find most interesting here – ranking content based on its originality.

“If you create something from scratch, you should get more credit than if you are resharing something that you found from someone else,” Mosseri says in a video he posted. “We’re gonna do more to try and value original content more, particularly compared to reposted content.”

? New Features ?

We’ve added new ways to tag and improved ranking:

– Product Tags
– Enhanced Tags
– Ranking for originality

Creators are so important to the future of Instagram, and we want to make sure that they are successful and get all the credit they deserve. pic.twitter.com/PP7Qa10oJr

— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) April 20, 2022

All of that sounds awesome, and I certainly agree that original content deserves a lot more attention than generating views from someone else’s content. For example, there TikTok videos all over Instagram, reposted by people who didn’t originally make them. But there are a few potential problems.

First of all, some videos (from TikTok or not) have been shared so many times that it’s become impossible to find creators behind them. I think it’s especially impossible for an algorithm to do it. Does this mean it will mistakenly rank even the video posted by the original creator?

Then, what about those videos someone creates on TikTok and then reposts as Reels on their own account? Sounds like they’re also going to be hidden from views. Personally, I prefer creating videos on TikTok. it’s simpler and way more intuitive than Instagram’s Reels. If I want to put my video on Instagram as well, I will simply download it from TikTok and upload it as an Instagram Reel. The same person stands behind it, but it’s still “a repost,” right?

When I started writing this, I compared the views one of my videos has on TikTok, versus the views on Instagram. I have to note that around 500 people follow me on Instagram and only nine on TikTok. And yet, I gained 10 times more views on TikTok.

In my opinion, this is yet another attempt of Instagram to get ahead of TikTok and make people share their Reels directly on Instagram. But hey, if you don’t want to depend on the algorithm (at least as a viewer), you can always choose a chronological Feed.

[via Engadget]