Instagram will now rank based on originality & improve product and people tagging

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Instagram logo on a Galaxy S10
Instagram logo on a Galaxy S10 (Image credit: Joe Maring / iMore)

What you need to know

  • Instagram has announced changes to its platform including ranking that prioritizes original content.
  • Product tags are being made available to everyone.
  • People will be able to add a tag to their profile that explains who they are or what they do.

Instagram has announced changes to the way it ranks content as well as improvements to product and people tags that will open them up to more people than ever before.

Perhaps the biggest news is the fact that Instagram is going to work to promote more original content rather than reposts, something that should allow original creators to get more exposure than those ripping them off. That's the theory, anyway.

Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri also says that product tags are now being made available to everyone, allowing people to add tags onto content that drives clicks to other profiles and products. It's all about making sure that creators get credit for their work, he said via Twitter.

Finally, Mosseri also said that enhanced profile tags will allow people to edit their profiles and add their profession or what they want to be known for. The content of those tags will then appear when those people are tagged in other content, making it immediately clear who they are and what they do.

Mosseri pointed out repeatedly that creators are important to Instagram, and while it's already one of the best iPhone apps for sharing content, it has plenty of competition. Both YouTube and TikTok offer features similar to a lot of what Instagram offers these days and Mosseri knows that the company needs to continue to pull creators into its platform.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.