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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Alex Hern Technology editor

‘Stop trying to be TikTok’: user backlash over Instagram changes

Photo illustration of Tiktok logo seen displayed on an android smartphone with an Instagram logo in the background
Instagram’s makeover is widely seen as a response to TikTok’s continued growth, in particular among younger Americans. Photograph: Avishek Das/Sopa Images/Rex/Shutterstock

Instagram’s head defended the app against a user backlash, after the social network launched a series of changes intended to make it more like its arch-rival TikTok.

The changes, which include an extremely algorithmic main feed, a push for the service’s TikTok-style “reels” videos, and heavy promotion of the TikTok-style “remix” feature, have resulted in users struggling to find content from friends and family, once the bread and butter of the social network.

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