It looks like the Instagram news feed is in for some serious changes. Meta is currently testing the full-screen Reels format. The Stories top panel will disappear, and the feed itself will become fully integrated. Now you can scroll through posts, videos, and stories in one stream. The latter will be displayed at the screen bottom as a frame bar. To view the entire list, just swipe to the left.

Such an update is reminiscent of the experience of using TikTok. This network is great at matching content to your recommendations based on videos you've watched multiple times or liked. Obviously, Instagram is striving to create an equally effective algorithm.

This tendency is in line with trends in social media visits. Today, users mostly spend time in Stories, not the main feed. In this situation, the appearance of the Reels format on Instagram was quite successful. Its goal is to allow users to create short, entertaining videos that are easy for other visitors to find. Experts note that it is Reels that demonstrate the growth of involvement in the social network. Therefore, the new feed is a logical continuation of the Instagram reform.

So far, Meta has not begun full-fledged testing: only an internal prototype has been created. Depending on further development, it might change significantly. However, eventually, we will get a new way to interact with all the social network content, especially videos. It is also hinted at by the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, who at the end of last year said that video content would become key in 2022. Most likely, this move is an attempt to strengthen the position of Instagram in competition with TikTok, the growth of which is associated with the active interest of users in short videos.

Do you think Instagram will be able to win this fight? Also, please tell us which of these two networks you use more often and why?