Instagram Inc. has been testing a new User Interface for their Instagram app for iOS, with a horizontal scroll, rather than a vertical scroll. It seems the company wanted to trail this new user interface with a handful of customers, however they accidentally rolled out this feature to the vast majority of customers, and backlash was fierce.
This new UI was not intended for wide-scale rollout, and was intended to mimic Instagram’s popular “Stories” feature, where creators can share short images and videos which last for 24-hours. Those who saw the new User Interface saw a message which stated, “Introducing a new way to move through posts. Tap through posts, just like you tap through stories.”
The company did not make it clear why the new feed was tested, but some customers have speculated and said it was to reduce mindless scrolling down the feed to improve Screen Time habits. Instagram has not immediately responded for Appleosophy’s request for comment.
The Independent stated that the majority of users in the United Kingdom received the update on Thursday afternoon.
The company’s director Adam Mosseri replied to a Twitter comment with the following:
