The lord giveth and the lord taketh away. Instagram announced last month it would restore a “more likely” chronological order of posts, a move it made in response to rampant complaints about posts showing up in feeds days after they were published.
While users were pleased to hear the news about chronological posts, Instagram snuck in and instituted a new algorithm for comments. Rather than showing comments in chronological order, now comments are being listed first by the accounts you follow and subsequently by verified accounts. If you don’t open comments, the front page still highlights comments from accounts with large followings.
While it makes sense to prioritize the comments of followed accounts, there are complaints that verified accounts shouldn’t receive top dog status because they’re comments aren’t necessarily the most compelling.
You can see the dynamic play out in a big way on @theshaderoom which garners tons of comments. While some couldn’t care less, many are pointing out that the most interesting comments don’t come from verified accounts.
The same as the prior algorithm, comments by accounts with big followings are posted on the front page. The algorithm ordering comments by who you follow and verified accounts only kicks in when you open comments.
Instagram hasn’t yet made an official announcement on the change to comment order.
Shade Room feedback on Ig comment changes.
