Instagram, fed up with people sharing TikToks to Reels, is changing its algorithm

The app's algorithm will now promote original content over reposts.

Instagram Reels

Instagram is tired of seeing the TikTok logo all over its platform.

Image: Instagram

Instagram is changing its algorithm to promote original content, platform head Adam Mosseri announced Wednesday. The change is focused on "the idea of originality," Mosseri said. What Mosseri didn't say is that the change is also focused on getting people to stop uploading TikToks to Instagram Reels, which must annoy Instagram execs endlessly.

An Instagram spokesperson told TechCrunch that its ranking algorithm will now prioritize original content in places like the Reels and Feed tabs over reposted content. Get ready to see less of the TikTok logo, basically.

“If you create something from scratch, you should get more credit than if you are resharing something that you found from someone else," Mosseri said. "We’re going to do more to try and value original content more, particularly compared to reposted content.”

The algorithm will also stop resurfacing Reels and posts that have already been shared on the app, according to TechCrunch, so you won't see the same things over and over. Reposted content is less likely to be recommended to other users, and accounts that repost content are less likely to be recommended as well. Mosseri said in a follow-up tweet that Instagram had already been doing this, but is leaning more into it so as to not "overvalue aggregators."

How will this work? Mosseri said the company "can’t know for sure." The app builds "classifiers" to predict how likely content is to be original, looking at factors like who is in the video and if they've seen it before, "but that’s not knowing," he said.

The news comes on the heels of Instagram testing out removing the "recent" tab from the hashtag page, which the company said is to help users connect with "more interesting and relevant content." Users involved in the test now will see just two tabs: Top, where the most popular content will be displayed, and Reels, where you'll see videos.

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Nat Rubio-Licht is a Los Angeles-based news writer at Protocol. They graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in newspaper and online journalism in May 2020. Prior to joining the team, they worked at the Los Angeles Business Journal as a technology and aerospace reporter.

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