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After years of confusing updates intended to promote different businesses like Instagram Shop and Reels, Instagram said today that it will streamline its in-app navigation. The Compose button (the plus sign “+”) will be moved back to the center of the navigation bar at the bottom of the app starting in February, according to the firm, and the Shop tab will be completely eliminated.
Reels will now be located to the right of Compose and lose its prominent position as a result.
Earlier updates that prioritized Reels over Compose caused some controversy since Instagram users believed that the business was pressuring them to use the new features at the detriment of the app’s general user experience. In 2020, the business moved the Reels tab to the center of the navigation bar and removed the well-liked Activity tab in favor of the Shop button. Then, to make them more difficult to spot, the Activity button and Compose button were moved to the top-right corner of the home screen. Instagram stated at the time that these modifications will simplify for consumers access to Instagram’s “expanding portfolio of products.”
But in recent months, there has been a rise in criticism regarding how far Instagram has strayed from its initial purpose.
Kylie Jenner, a well-known Instagram user, posted an image to her account last year pleading with the company to “make Instagram Instagram again” and to “stop trying to be tiktok,” adding her voice to the user criticisms at the time. Kim later expressed a similar attitude on her Stories in a post. The celebrities were furious about changes to the Instagram feed that more frequently promoted video material and recommended posts rather than the polished photographs that had contributed to their notoriety, in addition to the aggressive Reels push.
However, the experiment attracted Instagram’s attention. As a result, Adam Mosseri, the company’s CEO, responded to the criticism by assuring users that photographs remained a top priority. He also addressed dissatisfaction with users’ feeds containing an increasing number of Recommended (algorithmically suggested posts), which appeared to be Instagram’s attempt to create a rival to TikTok’s For You page.
Moving buttons around won’t change how the feed itself looks, so not all user issues will be resolved by the impending makeover, but it will at least make it easier for users to share photos, as they have in the past. Additionally, users can be gently encouraged to resume sharing images by giving the Compose button a higher priority.
When a test began deleting the Instagram Shop tab from select users’ home screens and concealing it under Settings last fall, there were clues that Instagram was thinking about going in this manner. Instagram said at the time that it was merely a test with a small group of users. But according to an internal memo, The Information had claimed that the change had occurred because of a change in the “business priorities.”
The business has stated today that Instagram shopping isn’t necessarily over just because the Shop option is gone.
As we continue to invest in shopping experiences that offer the highest value for people and businesses across Feed, Stories, Reels, advertisements, and more, you will still be able to set up and run your shop on Instagram, according to a spokeswoman.
According to Instagram, its users will notice the navigational changes in February.
