Instagram’s Chronological Feed : Everything You Need to Know

Instagram’s Chronological Feed : Everything You Need to Know

Instagram’s chronological feed is now once again available. After more than five years, the company switched from algorithmically-ranked feed to chronological feed. The new version was introduced in December 2021 for some regions. But now, Instagram is now passing out the change all over the world globally.

Now by using this new feature, people can move between three different types of their feeds. Firstly, the default feed, also known as the (algorithmic home feed), second (the following feed) arranges accounts you follow in opposite chronological sequence, and thirdly (the favorites feed) is a feed of up to 50 favorite accounts you want to see. You can easily move between these three feeds by clicking/tapping the new drop-down menu in the up-left corner of the app.

Last June, Instagram posted a long blog about how its ranked algorithm works. In this blog post-Adam Mosseri, Instagram's chief administrator, wrote that in 2016 when Instagram moved away from the chronological feed, many people started missing 70% of their posts in their feed, and many of these feeds are from close connections or relatives.

What Exactly Is Insta Chronological Feed, and How Does It Differ from Algorithm Feed?

Instagram Chronological Feed shows the posts of accounts you have followed in chronological order. It means if an account has posted a reel or photo at 4:00 am, it would be shown first in the Instagram Chronological Feed before the account that posted something at 7:00 am. This is in contrast to algorithm feeds which show the content based on your preferences. It does not account for the time of the post but rather the number of interactions on it. So, if you have interacted with a similar post, Instagram will show it before posts with fewer interactions.

Why Was the Chronological Feed Removed in the First Place?

Instagram removed the Chronological Feed in 2016, and it sparked a huge controversy. Despite the criticism from users, Instagram was adamant that the ranked-feed system works better for the platform. However, the platform had its reasons, which were explained in the creator's posts. Instagram explained that switching to a ranked feed has improved the average reach of posts. The platform suggests that about 50% more followers see the posts than Chronological Order Feeds. 

However, an average figure is not representative of all the accounts. It is possible that the newer version helped the accounts with larger followers. But for small accounts, it just meant they would miss the posts from other small accounts. 

How Does Instagram Chronological Feed Affect Engagement?

On March 23, 2022, Instagram announced the revival of Chronological Feed, but there is a small amount of information available on what marketers can anticipate for engagement. But whatever material is available on the subject suggests that there is nothing to panic about the brand's engagement. 

Many people who use Instagram are highly involved and check the app regularly. Almost 42% of users open the app more than one time in a single day since almost half of Instagram users open the app multiple times in a single day, so it is quite hard to think that they will just adjust their desired setting each time to their favorite feed or chronological feed.

According to a report, brands have frequently increased their posting frequency on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram in 2022. The average posting frequency across all media industries rose by about 25% this year only on Instagram. However, if people do this, it’ll make it much easier and more important for brands and marketers to know the prime time to post on social media platforms and do this more frequently.

Why is Instagram Chronological Feed Not Available as a Default Setting?

Chronological Feed is not available as the default setting because of the very reason it was changed in the first place. Instagram still believes that the ranking system works better than chronological order. Well, it is their prerogative, and there is not much we can do about it. Luckily, you at least have the option to go with chronological feed, even if it is not set as default. 
And the process is quite simple and hassle-free as well. You just have to follow the given steps:

1.    Open Instagram and log into the account
2.    Tap on Instagram Logo to get a dropdown menu.
3.    You would see three options, “home,” “following,” and “favorites”
4.    Select “Following” from the list

You would begin to view the posts in chronological order. And if you get an error like “Instagram not refreshing feed,” it is probably not because you have changed the feed type but because there is some problem with the internet connection. Go to other social networking websites like Twitter, Facebook and TikTok and see if they work. If they do not, it means there is a problem in connection that you need to fix. 

How Will This New Version Work on Instagram’s Feed? 

The new feed would work exactly like it used to do. The posts that are uploaded earlier would be shown first and vice versa. But since it is not the only option right now, users can choose between three options.


1.    Home/Main: The current default feed, which has your personal or ranked data
2.    Following: The new version chronological Feed you know and add back to the app after five years.
3.    Favorites: A second chronological feed that has up to 50 favorite accounts which you want to see more often

The favorites feed has up to 50 or maybe more favorite accounts you like most. It can be your favorite creator, film actor/actress, family, friend, or anyone special. In this chronological feed, you’ll mostly see the content and posts of your favorite people.

How to Control Instagram Algorithm-Defined Feed?

In contrast to the popular view, the algorithm feed can also be controlled. Instagram will begin to show similar posts that you have interacted with recently. But just because you have interacted with a post does not mean you have liked it. For example, if you leave a comment under the post disagreeing with the content. Instagram would just observe that you have left the comment and would not take the content of the comment into account. So, it will show you similar posts you do not necessarily want to see.

Fortunately, there is work around it. You have to follow the given steps;
 
•    Set Up Close Friends: This setting allows the user to choose a selected person, like a close friend. You can only allow your friend to see your story content. This algorithm also allows you to prioritize your content from the people who are in your feeds and stories.
 
•    Mute Accounts: if you don’t want to see anyone’s story or content, you can simply mute them without unfollowing them. The muted person never knows that you’ve muted them.

•    Label Suggested Posts as Not Interested:  In the Explore Feed, chances are you would begin to see content that you are not necessarily interested in. It is probably because you have accidentally interacted with that content. However, it is not a problem as you can click on the three dots above the post and label it as “Not Interested”. Instagram will stop showing similar posts in the future.

How To View Instagram Followers in Chronological Order?

Like the Chronological Feeds, Instagram also rolled back chronological order for followers in 2021. Before the update, the newest followers were available on the top, which let the accounts know who followed them recently. You just had to go to the followers, who were available in chronological order. 

However, with the new updates, Instagram shows followers randomly. You will see a different list of followers if you log in to the account from multiple smartphones.  It has compelled users to use third-party applications like Snoopreport to get such information. However, not all third-party applications can be trusted, especially in Android. Fortunately, there is a way to find out the recent followers without installing third-party applications.  

While Instagram shows your followers in random orders, if you go to the followers of the account that you have been following, the list will be displayed in chronological order. And it is also what you can use to find out about your recent followers. You just have to create another account and use that to look at the followers of the other accounts in chronological order.

Last Words: Instagram’s Chronological Feed

Social networking platforms, especially Instagram, have millions of users that are growing every day. Such a high number of users makes the audience diverse; naturally, not all of them would have the same preferences. Some of them would like one feed type better than another. And if the platform decides to go with any of them, it will upset the other users. It seems as if Instagram has learned its lesson and thus decided to reintroduce a chronological feed. 

However, the users do not get this feed by default. You would have to tweak certain settings and we hope this piece has explained exactly how to do that and what are the benefits of it.